Archives for 2016

This is not a thought out theological reflection. I simply want to point out that the Old South, at its best, pointed out theological themes that had either been ignored in history or had lessened in value below what the Scriptures and Holy Tradition would hold as their true value. Among those diminished values is […]

I do not have a very profound point to make today. The problem with our reality is the problem of how often we are wrong. Any policeman can tell you, and has been able to tell you for decades, that eyewitness statements are notoriously unreliable. Between the stress of the moment, and the assumptions that […]

We talk about love being a sacrament, but so often we miss the practical aspects of that sacramental life. We often, and only, see it as a sacrament in terms of the unity of man and woman. We get all excited in speaking of this mystical union which we do not understand. But, we miss […]

This post is inspired by a post on Internetmonk.com found here. In that post he quotes from the Epistle to Diognetus, Pros Diognhton Epistolh, a second century product that defends the faith (apologetics). The author is unknown and simply calls himself, a disciple. In it is found the following quote: “For Christians cannot be distinguished from […]

Cultural integration is always a difficult subject. Yesterday, I posted a soundtrack of an Appalachian-style megalynarion sung by the monks of Saint John of San Francisco and Shanghai monastery. It has an Appalachian sound, but conforms to all the tonal rules of the OCA. Today, see this video from New Zealand. It gives a great […]

No, there is no such thing as the Appalachian Orthodox Church. However, there are people that have considered what an Orthodox hymn would sound like that follows the tonal rules but has Appalachian harmonies. About a year ago, I posted a “Christ is Risen” sung to those harmonies. Today, I am posting a megalynarion sung […]

  Comment 1: “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.” A recent article commented, “And he [Trump] was able to exploit their resentments and frustrations because those same Republican leaders had been nurturing those feelings for years with attacks on Mr. Obama, Democrats, illegal immigrants and others.” Part of the establishment Republican […]

We have a fallacy in this country about small businesses. We love to speak about small businesses as the avenue to new job growth. We speak about small businesses as though the people involved were these independent self-sufficient people who have built their businesses without any help. But, that is very far from the truth. […]

For Lent I have been reading a book from several years ago titled, “Everyday Saints and Other Stories.” Without going into the backstory, there is a passage that records a happening at a Russian monastery during Soviet rule. “When the order came to close the monastery caves, Father Alipius ordered the keeper of the keys: […]