These are some of the most important people to walk the planet today. Without them (and their Western allies in the anti-Hitler coalition), our world would be groaning under a dark reign of terror. Don’t forget… the Nazis had willing helpers… and bitter foes. Never mix them up!
My thanks to Tim Connelly for the link.
We’re on the final push!
Yep… there’s only 8 percent left to go on this… to put it another way, it’s 92 percent done. There’s only December 2007 and January 2008 to be done in their entirety, and I’ve started February 2008.
One of the things that I have noticed is that I’ve reflected on what I have written over the last 30 months. Was I wrong in some of my guesses? Certainly! Let’s not forget that a batter with an average of .300 is considered good. That means that you strike out 70 percent of the time. That is, you fail far more often than you succeed. I would say that is what separates cowards from the stalwart. You have to be willing to be “wrong”… to fail… in public, no less!
However (as Chuckcha the Wise points up)… I found nothing that I regretted, nothing that I found nasty. Regrets are for the foolish, in any case. Once you’ve made a decision, that does settle the matter. You open the door and you don’t look back. You ask the advice of those who know what they’re talking about, and all the rest can go fish.
In short… I’ve had a great deal of FUN with this. I also feel a sense of accomplishment. Remember, those with the loudest voices and most strident complaints are usually those with zilcho works to their credit. Over 2,700 posts… many of them original translations… God willing, it’s helped you… it’s certainly helped me to refine my position and outlook.
Shall you take my hand on the road? There’s a long way yet to the “Last Homely Home” and it helps to have companions. The road goes ever onwards… your feet hurt less with someone to share the trail.
God love you all.
Cheers,
Vara
Bishop Margot Kässmann (1958- )
Bishop Margot Kässmann, the head of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) submitted her resignation. Last Saturday, police arrested her in the centre of Hanover for going through a red light. Frau Kässmann admitted that she was driving a car while intoxicated. However, according to police, she “wasn’t in control of her automobile”. “I made a big mistake. My heart tells me that I can’t remain in office. Therefore, I resigned and relinquished my duties in the Church”, Frau Kässmann said, according to the BBC.
A divorced 51-year-old mother of four daughters, Bishop Kässmann was elected the head of the EKD, comprising more than 20 Lutheran and Reformed Churches, at their Synod on 28 October. In response to this decision, sources in the MP said that they were not going to resume the old format of the dialogue with the EKD, but are open to a discussion on their outstanding differences.
In a letter of 10 December 2009 to Rev Martin Schindehütte, his opposite number in the EKD, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk wrote, “Despite the fact that we had not previously acknowledged the existence of the priesthood in Protestant communities, and, therefore, did not recognise them as ‘churches’ in this sense, we engaged in dialogue with some of them using the concept of ‘a church [talking] with The Church’. However, now, the situation has changed, and a woman is the head of the EKD. This raises fundamental questions about the possibility of continuing the dialogue using this specific concept”.
25 February 2010
Interfax-Religion
http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=34356
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The Chairman of the German Episcopal Conference (Roman Catholic), Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau, regretted the resignation of the head of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Bishop Margot Kässmann, according to a statement released on Wednesday by the press service of the Episcopal Conference. “I’ve known Frau Kässmann for a long time, she’s a person who is willing to take responsibility for her actions, so I respect her decision, and I can understand why she did this”, Archbishop Zollitsch said. He added that his recent cooperation with her as the head of the Council of the EKD was constructive.
Last weekend, police arrested Frau Kässmann for driving while intoxicated, and, on Wednesday, she announced her resignation, despite the fact that all 14 members of the Council of the EKD unanimously decided to support her. Police stopped her on Saturday night in Hanover (Lower Saxony) because she drove through a red light. The police stopped her and asked to take a sobriety test. After the test, Frau Kässmann went to the police station, where she underwent a blood test, which showed that at the time of her arrest her blood alcohol level was 1.54 ppm.
In October 2009, Bishop Kässmann was elected the head of the Council of the EKD, which encompasses nearly 25 million Protestants. She was the first woman in the history of German Protestantism to be elected to this high office. She is divorced and has four daughters.
Previously, she commented on the incident, calling her actions “a terrible mistake”. According to her own statement, Bishop Kässmann is shocked by her behaviour and said that she made a terrible blunder. She said that she knows how dangerous and irresponsible drink driving is, and is aware of the legal consequences of what happened.
24 February 2010
RIA-Novosti
http://www.rian.ru/society/20100224/210724145.html
Editor’s Note:
I looked at Patriarhia.ru, and there has been no official announcements as of 23.00 EST (07.00 26 February MSK) regarding this situation. Br’er Kirill… he lay low… as he should, after all. Shall it change the objective situation? Perhaps not…
There has been much activity on the term “Kässmann” on my site. Well… the above is what is being reported in Russia on the affair. In any case, His Nibs is tied up with the installation of President Yanukovich in the Ukraine, and all the usual cast of suspects are with him. In short, this isn’t a big story in Moscow. That’s all folks…
BMD
Bishop Margot Kässmann (1958- ), former head of the EKD, she resigned yesterday after a drink driving arrest… shall it affect relations with the MP? Time will tell us.
As of now, there has been no reaction from the Patriarchate of Moscow and all the Russias from either official or unofficial sources as to how the MP shall modify its relations with the EKD after the resignation of Margot Kässmann … if at all. There is nothing to go on, as of tonight. For those not in the know, the head of the EKD, Bishop Margot Kässmann resigned yesterday after she was arrested for drink drinking by the police. Here is a URL for the story:
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Drinkdrive-bishop-quits–over.6102257.jp
I would think that the MP would adjust its relations depending on who is elected to the post. However, there has been no word official or unofficial, not even a hint of rumour or scuttlebutt. Your guess is as good as mine is. One wonders if Frau Kässmann was “set up”, or whether it was just a dumb as dirt mistake. Well, one thing is certain, at that level, you don’t get a second chance (unless you’re in the OCA, but let’s not open that particular manhole, shall we?).
One wonders what Alfeyev is going to say about this…
Barbara-Marie DrezhloWednesday 24 February 2010
Albany NY
Update 13.00 25 February 2010:
There’s still no word up on the MP’s take on this on any of the websites, not on the official sites or on any of the news outlets. A friend told me that Fr Filipp Ryabykh has made a statement in reaction to the news, but it’s nothing new, the same old boilerplate, I’m afraid. As soon as the statement comes in, I’ll translate and post it… it appears to be of interest to some of you.
BMD
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