Not Again!!! Fight at Holy Sepulchre

Some Christmas Traditions should go away. Like this one.

Aw cute -polar bear cub

There's a new "Knut the Bear" and the world is falling in love with new born cub Siku.

It doesn't matter what the Pope says

I didn't say it. That statement conjures up many images in ones mind when they see or hear that. It also has greater meaning depending on who said it. In this case it was said by a "catholic".

I had an interesting exchange this morning before the Christmas Mass. A "paid" roman protestant in the choir approached me while I was seated in my seat in the choir and asked if he could talk to me in private. He didn't like two things from night before.

For all the people reading this who aren't novus ordites (that is, post-Vatican 2 catholics) in the new mass there is a part (stolen from the Copts I discovered) called the "Sign of Peace". There aren't any actual instructions on what to do and when Abp John Nienstadt of St. Paul/Minneapolis was asked about it by an Orthodox cavemen up there, he said "It's...a matter of interpretation." Therefore catholics do things from shaking hands, to practically groping people near them. I don't ride that way. I would just do a slight bow since it's up to interpretation. I don't shake hands for two reasons: 1) I know most people don't wash their hands after going to bathroom or cough into their hands; and 2) They didn't do that before Vatican 2 and I didn't see where in Vatican 2 it says to do that. (If you see it let me know)

Now this roman protestant didn't like how I was humming last night when I did my usual slight bow in the loft because he thought it was "distracting" (Nevermind the "catholic" soprano who was hugging everyone near her). He said it was ok if I just want to bow like I was doing or not do anything at all but he didn't like how I was humming, and that was the only time I did that btw.

I was wondering how it was any of his business since I have only two people to answer to: the music director and the priest. But it got better, and all the real Catholics will get a kick out of this.

He asked me not to chastise people when they applaud in church. He went on about how he knows it's not in "my Tradition" (how would he know?!) and started going on with the usual "spirit of Vatican 2" idiocy that we're all accustomed to hearing. I turned him out and the point, put what I was holding into my bag, looked back up and said, "So the Pope's wrong?" He tried changing tack about how I'm a hired musician but I cut him off. "It's not my opinion it's the Pope's. And it's every Pope's before him." He replied "It doesn't matter the Pope says. Look, the people want to just show their appreciation for the choir and Father (Censored) doesn't have a problem with it. He can worry about. Now as a hired musician will you just do that?" "So the Pope's wrong?" "Will you do that?" "So the Pope's wrong?" "Will you do that?" *blank stare from me* "Yes."

He didn't see that he was contradicting his argument on several levels. First he was exposing himself as a heretic according to his own Church. The Pope is infallible and Christ on Earth. All must obey him. Vatican 1 makes that absolutely clear. Second, his logic was that "If the priest doesn't say anything and/or allows it, it's ok." Well the priest didn't say anything about me "humming" or chastising people for clapping in church. Therefore according to his own logic, it's ok. And following the logic, why was it any of his business? Continuing that logic, the priest never ever condemned bestiality, pedophilia or necrophilia either. Intelligent people would realize that it goes without saying those things are sick and evil, even if it weren't condemned in the Bible.

Was I surprised? No. What would I expect from a steer other than beef? Such attitudes are almost the status quo in the Church of Rome. They're called "Catholics in Name Only" or CINO's (chee nos). Well, it reminds us why we're not Catholic.

Fr. Augustine proves All Western Rites are useful

Fr. Augustine along with Deacon Joseph get more respect from me every day. They tell it like it is and teach me something new every time I read their blogs. It's just too bad their message and that of the True Orthodox synods fall on deaf ears in the "Canonical" hierarchy. Here's some highlights:

"...The Western Orthodox uses don't appeal to me from an 'antiquarian' idea of being interested in liturgical development, etc, etc., or from a 'nostalgic' feeling of what was in the 1960s (if 'liturgical scholarship' has taught me anything, it is that the Tridentine Mass had reached a low state, only to followed much lower by the Roman Catholic Novus Ordo), but, they appeal to me because those were the prayers I was baptised with, or the priest used to baptise me, and the same to Chrismate me, and the same to give me Communion, and to hear my confession, and to give me the monastic habit, or to give me Holy Orders. It was all I knew, and the Eastern Liturgy was something I remembered from my heterodox past as something used by modernist/ecumenist World 'Orthodox', but, also, something I knew was widely used by the True Orthodox as well (though, since I rarely left the monastery, I had seen it only a few times since then, so, it became a very 'theoretical' subject for me)."

"...Years ago, a Russian bishop who had initially been very favourable to the Western rite, was turned off against it, because a priest made an horrible mess (which is to say things lightly). The Bishop came to the conclusion that no one was mature enough to do things properly, and that until the decades or centuries had passed when they were, they could then begin to do so. So, one priest messes things up, and the whole Western 'rite' is blamed? One priest proves to used a bad translation, is incompetent, is immoral, and destroys his congregation or people, or whatever, and the whole use is castigated as unable to attract people.

How many people were upset at Met. John because he was 'wasting' all his time translating these some odd 100 prefaces for the 'Sarum' Mass, as well as the other mass of material that took 30 years to put together (tropes, etc)? People also said, 'This is too complicated, no one is going to be attracted to it. We should just stick with a modified Tridentine Mass, and make a few modifications. That's all. No one is going to be interested in this Old Roman Usage. It's got to much variability, and is too dificult for people and priest to use."
Well, those critics have been silenced by the progress and force of history and experience. It didn't prove difficult, even though it had more variability than the Byzantine Liturgy. I think the same can be said for any opponents of the Hispanic Rite, or Gallican Use, or whatever. 'Let's just have these folks use the Sarum, because it's close enough to the Tridentine Mass, they'll only have to make a few modification. We had some bad priest years ago who messed up because he didn't do the Hispanic/Gallican/etc, properly. Therefore we know that it wont attract. Therefore, they must only use the SArum, and that must be the only one encouraged, because the Hispanic/Gallican, etc, is too complicated. It's got too much variability, and is too difficult for people and priest to use.'"

I'm under Met. Hilarion (ROCOR-MP) and I believe both he and Bishop Jerome are aware of all of this. It's going to take time to get it right, but we're on our way. I myself don't have the tones down yet. I was never taught them, but I'm working on them.

VSO's Christmas Wish 2011

Even though I'll be observing it on the Julian Calendar (January 7 on the "normal" one) I'll be busy at that RC parish where I work. We're doing a latin chant Magnificat (part Proper Tone and part amalgamated choir) and an incomplete Schubert "Gloria" by which I mean it leaves out the following:

Dómine Deus, Agnus Dei, Fílius Patris,
qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis;
qui tollis peccáta mundi, súscipe deprecatiónem nostram.
Qui sedes ad déxteram Patris, miserére nobis.
Quóniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dóminus, tu solus Altíssimus,
Iesu Christe, cum Sancto Spíritu: in glória Dei Patris. Amen.

In English means:

Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.
you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen

We're also doing some protestant crap. I'll never understand why Catholics try to be the very thing they're supposed to be against. I just don't even wonder about it anymore and try to do my job.

Anyway, to my Christmas wish:

Pastor vs. Iman

I was clued into this. I'm surprised by how honest the Iman was about the religion of peace, and how they let the pastor talk uninterrupted for five minutes. Liberals never do that! Being Orthodox I consider both of these men heretics (it's just that the pastor is less heretical) but hey, when he's right he right! This is something sorely lacking in Official Orthodoxy ESPECIALLY the Greek patriarchates. I bet leaders of those said Greek churches will condemn the pastor and not the Iman who promised "more 9/11's".

St. Nicholas Day

Today on the Old Calendar we observe the Feast of St. Nicholas the Wonder Worker...and chastiser of heretics. See Sophocles' entry here.

Christmas Caroling with Rowdy Roddy Piper

The toughest fast

Most unOrthodox think that Lent is tough because you have to go ONE DAY out of the week without eating meat. Pssh! Try going 60. The Orthodox know that there are many Lents throughout the year. The two toughest IMHO are Great Lent and Nativity. The longest is the former, the toughest to keep is the latter.

During Great Lent the unOrthodox have their menial half-assed attepmt at Lent, the extent of which is Filet o' fish on Friday. During that period I don't have unOrthodox offering me meat. Not so with Nativity Lent. During Nativity Lent there are numerous Holiday parties with a variety of fast inappropriate foods and I'm surrounded by unOrthodox who have no clue about Orthodoxy. They bring meat therefore I'm supposed to eat it, or try to stick to the vegetarian options...if there are any. That's why I have yet to go an entire Nativity Fast without meat. It's not till new Christmas when I'm left alone to prepare for the traditional Nativity date.

Video of Fr. Schmemann

Fr. Alexander Schmemann was the highly influential and respected Dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary until his death in 1983. This video is a very curious time capsule featuring many bishops and clergy and provides prophetic moments like watching WWII movies. I refer to two bishops who are interviewed who disgraced the Church with their cultures of corruption. One is banned from mention in this blog, the other almost ruined OCA. It's just chilling listening to these two speak of a great priest like Fr. Schmemann. But I digress, it's a half hour long but worth it.

Question of Ethics: How to deal with double parking

I get very irritated, as I'm sure you do, when I see people taking up two parking spots. I don't mean with a semi or a winnebago, I mean with a Chevy Lumina. In some places parking is at a premium, and if you are like me, you follow the rules and occupy only one spot. You do so because it's not only the law, but courtesy.

The Trophy Wife knows a person who keys the cars she sees double-parked. We can't really condone that, but we sure do understand. Which reminds me of a "My Name is Earl" episode where Earl & friends are trying to resurrect a popular hot dog stand that Earl had stolen because he was paid by a chain-restaurant (specializing in hot dogs) paid him and a buddy to do so. For those who have never seen MNIE, Earl is a former nogoodnik who after winning the lottery and getting ran over by an old granny has an epiphany: that karma has repaid him for all his evil. Therefore he makes a list of all the bad things he's done and tries to make amends for all of them. First Earl does all the usual legal and civil means of dealing with the chain manager-Earl doesn't go to the cops because it'd mean he'd go back to jail...again- even infiltrates the company HQ and talks to the CEO about it, only to get told that sometimes in business they have to do shady things. So Earl sees that the only way to combat crooks is by out crooking them, and reassembles his gang to steal stuff from the HQ. The plan backfired and long story short Earl's exwife plants severed toe in her current husband's hot dog (unbeknownst to him) and they use the settlement money to rebuild the old hot dog stand. But that's not the point.

So how to combat double-parkers? The cops are never around, and will have better things to do. It's not right to damage the property of another, unless it's necessary to save their life or such. You know as well as I do that we have to do things in our jobs that aren't very Orthodox. Things to keep us ahead of our competition, and to keep us employed. Yet when I came home last night, someone was double-parked in the parking lot. There were plenty of other spots available so I took one. But I looked at that rusty piece of junk and thought about keying it, but it wouldn't show much since the owner obviously hit someone. Then I thought about taking my sledgehammer to it like Alex Karras in "Porky's" and leaving a note saying "Next time don't double park." It was dark and 9:30pm, so the likelihood of me getting caught was low. But God was watching. Can two wrongs make a right?

No I didn't hit the car.

VSO on Western Rite haters

Hello True Believers. As you may know from reading this blog, I am a big supporter of not only Orthodoxy but Western Orthodoxy. I support Western Orthodox because 1) I am Orthodox and 2) I am Western. Being of European descent I hold dear to me Saints like Patrick, Bridgid, Martin, Boniface, Kevin, Finbar, Cuthbert, Aidan, Augustine of Canterbury, Gregory the Great and Benedict etc. My ancestors were likely converted to the Faith by these people or other Orthodox saints of the time. These people were Orthodox Christians of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Faith. Therefore I support and prefer the methods of prayer and worship they use, to which I mean the Western Rites. My attitude is shared by Saints Patriarch Tikhon who wanted to evangelize America with Western Rites and John of Shanghai and San Francisco who not only served the Gallican Litugy on occasion but shepherded Western Orthodoxy along with his native Russian Orthodoxy, ergo a patron saint of both.


Which is why I get really irritated and PO'ed by some people in the Church who look down their nose at Western Orthodoxy. There are many whom I can't name right now but one person in particular I'd like to discuss is Bishop Peter of ROCOR which ironically has now the largest Western Rite Vicarite, with Antioch second (and Milan also a great supporter though not in communion with the two formers). I've never met him, but by reputation is not a nice man. I'm referring to him specifically because he's the only one I can name right now. I'm sure there are others, even on the ROCOR Synod, but this goes for ALL WR haters out there.

Bishop Peter (like these other people whose names escape me) doesn't want you to use the Western Rites. Not the Latin Rite, not the Sarum Rite, not the Hispanic Rite, not any of them. He believes that the Byzantine Rite is the only valid one and that ALL Orthodox Christians must use only it. He considers Western Orthodoxy inferior and "obsolete" and "unnecessary" and the usual lame, petty accusations. He is one of those bishops who believe themselves to be on pedastal high above the people he rules, in other words a mini-emperor, which has been far too frequent in recent years.

But the excrement storm came when Abp. Hilarion was elected First Hierarch of ROCOR. Before his election he was the Episcopal Vicar of ROCOR WVR in addition to being Archbishop of Australia and New Zealand, and after his election made it an official part of the office he now holds thus making all Western Rite parishes and monstaries "Stavropeglial" meaning they are all under his protection.(AXIOS! AD MULTOS ANNOS!) He along with Bishop Jerome of Manhattan govern the WRV and want to see it grow, and what bishop wouldn't? Bishop Peter among others that's who. The Fraternity of St Gregory joined ROCOR, thus making it the largest WRV. But it also brought in parishes and clergy under "Bishop Peter's" territory which didn't please him the least. Then Met. Hilarion and Bishop Jerome decided to ordain a former Catholic monk then Anglican clergyman to the Orthodox priesthood (he had been an Orthodox Christian for eight years by this point) and turned his home into an Oratory in St. Paul, MN.

This bit of news sent Bishop Peter to the moon. He wasn't consulted because it's none of his business, it's the Metropolitan's. He tried to block it but couldn't because he can't give the Metropolitan and the Synod orders (other way around). So in a big episcopal style hissy fit, he forbade all the WRV clergy from celebrating in "his" churches.

Well Vladyka Peter and all other Western Rite haters, I'm a supporter of the WRV as are Bishop Jerome and Met. Hilarion (who presides over the Synod of which you are a member FYI) and alot of other Orthodox Christians are WRV supporters too, like Met. Isaiah of GOA, and the AOANA. And we don't particularly care to have people, especially in hierarchal positions looking down their nose at us and our Traditions-all of which are older than the Russian Church! And how ironic that a former college history professor doesn't know his history. Since when has there been uniformity in Rites and Feast days? We have every right to worship in Orthodox Liturgies written by Western Saints without your harassment and interference. In my book, insistence that only the Byzantine Liturgy be used is the heresy of phyletism. If the Non-Chalcedonians and/or Catholics were to return, would you really demand that the use only the Byzantine Liturgy you use? The Western Hours and Liturgies are older than YOURS!

If you were ever elected Metropolitan would you really disband the WRV? To do so would be a sin and a heresy, and make you a spiritual descendant of Catholic archbishop John Ireland who drove St. Alexis Toth and his faithful into our arms. Ireland's reasons are the same as yours: he looked down Eastern Rite the way you do ours. Forbidding ROCOR clergy from "your" churches is in my book a schismatic act. For shame.I thank God for men like Met. Hilarion, Isaiah, Bishop Jerome and the bishops of the AOANA! Even that one excommunicated from this blog supports the WRV! I don't insult your Rite, don't insult mine!


I get really sick and tired having to remind everyone of what St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco said: "Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must also be Eastern. The West was Orthodox for a thousand years, and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of Her heresies.”

I'm VSO, and that's my opinion

How I deal with "opinions"

My good buddy and fellow Orthodox Caveman Nathan just reminded me why I stay anonymous: the same reason Bruce Wayne dresses up like a bat. He shares a recent internet exchange with a "Orthodox" who took issue with something he wrote. Hey, it's HIS BLOG!

I have "The Code of the Catacombs" for a reason: I have neither the time nor the patience to argue, reason or validate what I think. I work for a living unlike those "occupiers" therefore I have only so much time to write my thoughts. I do it to share information on things I like (beer, martial arts, celtic stuff and ESPECIALLY Western Orthodoxy) and things I hate (leftism, statism, church politics and corruption etc). This blog is about what I think.
No one is forcing you to read it. Comment or don't. I don't care.

As for Nathan's detractors who are trying to "save" him from True Orthodoxy, calling him names and accusing him of things only reminds him why he and his family left, AND I AGREE WITH THEIR REASONS! Trying "saving" your own church first from the men who are corrupting it (Black Bart et al) before throwing stones at his.

What really going on in Syria?

This is old news but what the filioque? Wanting to see if the Media is providing an accurate portrayal of things in Syria, an AOANA delegation went there to see for themselves.

Sure they could've been shown a "Potemkin Village" type of propaganda, but Fr. Reardon wrote what he saw, and said he felt safer there than in Detroit. You be the judge.

The Christmas Grinch Revisited by Burt Prelutsky

Nothing I have ever written has provoked as huge a response as a piece I wrote some years ago called "The Jewish Grinch That Stole Christmas."

In the article, which brought me roughly 10 times as much e-mail as I'm accustomed to receiving, I suggested that my fellow secular Jews (aka atheists and agnostics) were at the forefront in waging war on the values and traditions of Christian Americans.

Predictably enough, the response from gentiles was uniformly positive. The feedback from Jews was somewhat less favorable, roughly split between those who admired my courage while questioning the legitimacy of my birth and those who accused me of being a turncoat. What I found most telling was that those who damned me didn't, as a rule, refute what I had written; they were merely angry that a Jew had written the piece. They accused me of lending aid and comfort to bigots.

Because I make it a rule to write back to anyone who writes me, and because I assume that those who took the time and trouble to write were representative of many more who didn't, I'd like to share some of my responses.

The term that nearly every Jew used in condemning me was "a self-hating anti-Semite." A few accused me of not really being a Jew. That didn't mean they thought I was a Catholic or a Baptist flying under false colors; no, they meant that my sole claim to being Jewish was that my ancestors were Jewish. The fact is they're right.

As I have written on other occasions, I am not a religious man. I do not keep kosher. I do not help make up the morning minyan at the local synagogue. I do not even attend High Holiday services. So what? I'm Jewish because I say I'm Jewish. And because, quite frankly, with my face, who would believe me if I bothered to deny it? Furthermore, most Jews in America are not orthodox and cannot read Hebrew or even speak Yiddish. For the most part, American Jews are circumcised, have a bar mitzvah, attend a reformed or conservative temple once or twice a year, frequent delis and Chinese restaurants, and vote the straight Democratic ticket.

Also, I say I'm Jewish because I don't wish to offend the memory of my parents by denying their religion and the religion of their parents.

Finally, I say I'm Jewish because Hitler would have said I was Jewish, and then sent me off to Auschwitz, if I hadn't been fortunate enough to have been born in America.

That was my whole point. I was lucky to have been born to a Jewish family in a Christian nation. It was, in the main, Christian soldiers who liberated the Nazi death camps. Even if I'm not as Jewish as some of my critics would like, I still believe it behooves us to be openly grateful to our Christian neighbors – not because we fear future pogroms – but because it's the decent thing to do.

One of the very few points for which I was specifically taken to task was for referring to America as a Christian nation. To those people, I pointed out that I wasn't claiming this nation is a theocracy, but Christians of one denomination or another compose nearly 90 percent of America's population. That is 10 percent higher than the percentage of Jews in Israel, but I am willing to wager that none of my critics would deny that Israel is a Jewish state.

As one of my respondents put it, "An anti-Semite used to be someone who hated Jews, but it's become someone whom Jews hate." The problem with that truism is that Jews, in the great majority, don't hate gentiles. Sometimes it just seems that way. In fact, most of us are well aware that Israel has no more devoted allies in the world than America's most devout Christians. What's more, the reason that atheists and agnostics are able to wage their anti-religious crusade is because they can safely do so, and the only reason they can is because millions of Christians fought and died to protect this freedom. Unfortunately, as happens, for instance, when freedom of speech leads to obscenity and pornography, this precious freedom has been corrupted and turned into a license to bully Christians.

Sadly, as is so often the case with black Americans, those who are high-profile and get most of the media attention are the knee-jerk radicals and the anything-for-a-buck rabble-rousers.

When my critics accused me of promoting anti-Semitism, I pleaded not guilty. I asked them if they thought that gentiles were so stupid that, until I wrote my piece, they didn't recognize that there is a secular jihad under way in this country to remove Christ from Christmas, which, by the way, happens to be a national holiday, unlike Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and my birthday.

Finally, the problem is that if Christians complain that a minority is trying to bully the majority, they stand condemned as bigots. If I, a Jew, suggest that Christians should be free to celebrate one of their holier holidays in any fashion they like, and not have to feel guilty about it, I'm accused of being a self-hating anti-Semite. In short, nobody is allowed to be critical of Jews. Well, it so happens that while we Jews may be the Chosen People, that doesn't make us the perfect people. And, believe me, I'm not just talking about my relatives.

Many of us, Jews and Christians alike, have been annoyed with American Muslims because they seem to spend an inordinate amount of time whining about racial profiling, instead of condemning the worldwide butchery committed by jihadists in the name of their religion. Well, to me, the silence of American Jews when it comes to Christian-bashing has been equally deafening.

Frankly, I'm relieved that Lincoln Chafee, the oafish governor of Rhode Island, a proponent of same-sex marriage, who recently declared that Rhode Island Christmas trees would be called holiday trees, is an Episcopalian. It's bad enough that we Jews are stuck with the likes of Henry Waxman, Barbara Boxer, Bernie Sanders, Brad Sherman and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

What truly astonishes me is the patience and good grace with which Christians have dealt with this attack on so many things they hold sacred.

It is, I think, a tribute to their religion.

Rep. Kelly tells it like it is

AMEN!!!!

Auxiliary Bishop, Archbishop or both?

I was alerted to the news of the Antiochian church in a addition to consecrating three more glorified priests to serve an anathematized hierarch (from this blog anyway, and all mentions of said person will be promptly deleted) that Bishop Joseph was made an "Archbishop" while still an auxiliary. Or is he?

I'm not saying that he isn't worthy of such a title and honor, he is. He WAS after all the Enthroned, ruling Diocean Bishop of the AOANA's Western Diocese (and said to be a fine one to boot) that is until he was unceremoniously and uncanonically therefore illegally stripped of his Diocese along with the others (then again he did sign it over unlike Bishops Mark, Basil and Alexander).

The title "Archbishop" implies that he rules an ARCHDIOCESE. He however does not. It has been made clear that someone else alone rules America. So my question is: How can he be an Archbishop when he is an auxiliary? Is this more double-speak from Syria? Why not elevate Bishops Basil and Antoun to that title as well if there is indeed precedent for an Archbishop to be also an auxiliary?

This is making my head hurt.

Bigots vandalize Skete in Poland

Get the story here.

I guess I should pray for whoever did this?

Fr. Augustine explains a Dry Mass

Read his article here.

Fr. Augustine compares English and Hispanic Western Rites

You can read his article here.

Teaching Latin to Catholics

Judging by that title alone, you'd think it an oxymoron like teaching Greek to Greeks. But this is the novus ordo church we're talking about and specifically the one where I work. I try to keep the kvetching to a minimum and follow the advice of St. Isaac of Syria and other Desert Fathers to take it in stride, but boy does singing for novus ordites present challenges to one with Orthodox formation like me.

I really do look forward to the day when I can quit that job. It has never been fun. To think I spent all those years and thousands of dollars in the voice studio and University only to get paired up with no-talent rank-amateur hacks who never had a singing lesson and underemployed. Every week I count the heresies and abuses and keep telling myself "I just work here." But you know, everytime I think it can't get any worse, it does.

For Christmas were doing a bunch of pieces before the Mass begins. One is some Gospel number acapella that makes you imagine James Brown in that scene from the Blues Brothers. I said to my fellow proessionally trained section member, "OK so WHY can't we ever do chant acapella?" Which brings us to my next point.

We're also doing a Schubert "Gloria" but not for the actual "Gloria" even though it's considerably shorter than the English one we're actually doing. Then again the version we have is incomplete. The long and short of it is these fellas are trying to tell me that there is no "Oh" sound in Church Latin so it'd be "Glaria" instead of "Gloria".

I refer you to Pope Pius XII



and to another performance of the "Gloria". I hear "Oh"!



Lord GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!

Back on the set

I do miss being on the set, and being paid for it. Not too many opportunities since the Depression hit Hollyweird. Well this time I'm in a regional commercial along with other football fans in an outdoor stadium. Got paid a whole day for half day's work.

I don't miss freezing.

Celestial Hierachies and List of Archangels

Here is a link to Celestial Hierarchies by Dionysius the Aeropagite.

I also saw this on line and had to include it. I never knew the other Archangels.

In Orthodox Tradition, we know (at least) that the Seven Spirits before the Throne of God (Revelation), are the Seven Archangels. We also know that they are seraph; actually they are the leaders of the seraph (who are more than seven). The Seven Archangels should not be mistaken for the rank of Archangels which is immediately above the rank of Guardian Angels. I'll quote below the role of the Seven Archangels:

"Michael in the Hebrew language means "Who is like unto God?" or "Who is equal to God?" St. Michael has been depicted from earliest Christian times as a commander, who holds in his right hand a spear with which he attacks Lucifer/Satan, and in his left hand a green palm branch. At the top of the spear there is a linen ribbon with a red cross. The Archangel Michael is especially considered to be the Guardian of the Orthodox Faith and a fighter against heresies.

Gabriel means "Man of God" or "Might of God." He is the herald of the mysteries of God, especially the Incarnation of God and all other mysteries related to it. He is depicted as follows: In his right hand, he holds a lantern with a lighted taper inside, and in his left hand, a mirror of green jasper. The mirror signifies the wisdom of God as a hidden mystery.

Raphael means "God's healing" or "God the Healer" (Tobit 3:17, 12:15). Raphael is depicted leading Tobit (who is carrying a fish caught in the Tigris) with his right hand, and holding a physician's alabaster jar in his left hand.

Uriel means "Fire of God," or "Light of God" (III Esdras 3:1, 5:20). He is depicted holding a sword against the Persians in his right hand, and a flame in his left.

Sealtiel means "Intercessor of God" (III Esdras 5:16). He is depicted with his face and eyes lowered, holding his hands on his bosom in prayer.

Jegudiel means "Glorifier of God." He is depicted bearing a golden wreath in his right hand and a triple-thonged whip in his left hand.

Barachiel means "Blessing of God." He is depicted holding a white rose in his hand against his breast."

There is a wonderful book called 'The Holy Angels" by Mother Alexandra (queen Ileana of Romania). Haven't read it yet, but it is a very comprehensive Orthodox book in the realm of Angelology.

My Jewish friends are going to hate this

Meet Brother Nathaniel of ROCOR, a former jew now Orthodox Monk. His website is http://brothernathanaelfoundation.org/ and his other is http://www.realzionistnews.com/?p=516. Look at his other youtube videos. This creates a dilemma for me on who to believe. I applaud his zeal for Orthodoxy and glad that he accepted the True Faith, on the other hand he is raging against his former religion...then again so do most Orthodox converts. I can just imagine the hate mail he gets.

You be the judge.

Muppet song from Porn?!

When I think "Muppets" and "porn" in the same sentence I immediately think of this guy called "Trekkie Monster".



But apparently Jim Henson, or someone who worked with Jim Henson watched porn and decided to use that tune. Wow. Then again everything on HBO is porn.

Newt Gingrich: Serial Hypocrisy

VSO endorses Ron Paul. He is the only true Constitutionalist, Conservative and the only one who would bring real change. The DC elite know this which is why they want him out.

How do you spell "chutzpah'?

"Someone needs to pay for all my kids...Someone needs to be held accountable."

15 kids by 3 men. No husband. *sigh* Just watch

Orthodox Celts

I don't mean Saints Patrick, Brigid, Kevin, Cronan, Kiernan and yours truly (though I'm also german by descent). This group is from Belgrade, Serbia and perform Celtic music.

Adam Corolla Assess the OWS

I've been trying to get rid of the profanity since I have clergy regularly reading this crappy blog. My Spiritual Father keeps reminding me that profanity is unbecoming of an Orthodox Christian for we receive our Lord in the form of bread and wine in our mouth, and one should not defile it with language. Then again, what do you call an Irish person who doesn't swear? A mute.

Former "Manshow" co-host and co-creator Adam Corolla sums up the OWS movement and what led to it and what is destroying America. WARNING HARSH LANGUAGE ALERT!!!! WARNING PROFANITY ALERT!!!!