27 April 2013. Look At This… Orthodox Quislings to Kiss the Pope’s Arse at “Orientale Lumen” Conference

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Look at this:

Washington DC:  Metropolitan Tikhon invited to speak at Orientale Lumen Conference June 17-20

His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon was invited to speak at the Orientale Lumen XVII Conference at Washington Retreat House in the US capital 17-20 June 2013. The annual gathering is sponsored jointly by the Society of St John Chrysostom, the Orientale Lumen Foundation, and Eastern Christian Publications. The conference theme… Vision of a Reunited Church… will be developed by a number of speakers moderated by the Rev Ron Roberson, CSP, of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Amongst the other Orthodox speakers are Fr Thomas FitzGerald, Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology; and Mother Vassa Larina of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, University of Vienna (Universität Wien) in Austria. Several prominent Roman Catholic speakers will also address participants. Detailed information on registration fees, schedule, and accommodations may be found online. Videos of past conferences may be viewed at www.oltv.tv.

http://oca.org/news/headline-news/news-elsewhere-california-dc-michigan-new-jersey-pennsylvania

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Vassa Larina is a traitor… full stop. She thinks more of pleasing her Uniate mentor, Bob Taft, rather than staying true to Christ’s Church. Her claim that we who disagree with her practise an “Orthodoxy of Fear” isn’t only untrue… it’s a derisive notion of the worst-possible sort. Of course, the fact that her father is George Larin, one of the most powerful First Family clerics in the ROCOR doesn’t hurt. I think of the late Fr Mikhail Shuvar’s fidelity unto death and compare it to Vassa Larina’s perfidy unto treachery… sickening, isn’t it? What would the pre-reconciliation George Larin have said if his daughter sucked up to a papist Uniate stooge then? I know what the answer to that is… he would’ve condemned her publicly and cut ties with her. This is one of the most nauseating “Paris is well worth a mass” moments that I’ve seen. As for Tikhon Mollard and Thomas FitzGerald, neither one is doing anything contrary to previous shenanigans. They’re simply bad seed. They’re both quasi-papists (Mollard may be a crypto-Uniate in his heart-of-hearts… Dahulich certainly is).

If we were doing this in a True Orthodox manner, we’d send low-ranking non-official observers to this shindig, not Archpriests, not Archimandrites, not Bishops… they’d have strict orders to stay out of all discussions… their only purpose would be to report to the hierarchy on what went on. They’d not participate in any group photos or make any statements for the Church. They’d be polite and generous… but aloof. After all, the papists are outside the Church, and we can’t give them the impression that they’re not. They’re schismatics, at best. That is, one should be kind and civil, but not encourage any papist nonsense.

For shame… Vassa Larina, Tikhon Mollard, and Thomas FitzGerald showed their willingness to sell out (cheaply) the Lord Christ for a mess of pottage. Hmm… Fathausen and Moriak did likewise, didn’t they? I wonder if El Gordo and his protector Potapov are going to show up for this Dixie Fry… it’s in the District, after all. Perspirin’ minds wanna know…

BMD 

26 April 2013. More Vox Pop… On “Ecumenism”

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Brothers and Sisters!

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Many say that “dialogue” with the RCs and Anglicans is a waste of time and energy. The papacy can’t bring itself to repent of its concentration camps at Talerhof and Jasenovac. Then, there was the ethnic cleansing and religious persecution of the interwar Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian Uniate (to say nothing of Vatican) support for Hitler and fascism. What makes our Orthodox “theologians” think that Rome’s interested in repenting of its heresies if it can’t repent of the above crimes? After all, the pope offended our Church, its martyrs, and truth itself when he “beatified” Cardinal Alojzije Viktor Stepinac. Let’s concentrate our energy on the Oriental Orthodox, who truly desire real unity, who truly love us, and who truly suffer for Jesus Christ. Let the Bishop of Rome keep his prideful heresies and obscene wealth. Let’s turn to the poor and humble in Ethiopia, India, Egypt, and Armenia. They’re our own lost brothers. Rome wants to conquer us… as for Anglicanism… well… we can discuss that when it gets around to defining its own theology.

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Again, the Orthosphere isn’t an airy-fairy academic theory… it’s a real-world fact. The encounter with the Oriental Orthodox is the only real dialogue out there… all others are nothing but sterile mutual masturbation engaged in by likeminded and windy professors. Like all masturbation, it’s pointless, fruitless, and results in nothing (it does produce tons of irrelevant and unreadable bumfodder and it spends far too much of the believers’ hard-earned money (the “widow’s mite”) on junkets and parties for layabout academics). That says much about the lot at SVS and their relentless sucking up to papists and Anglicans, doesn’t it?

BMD 

Orthodox Christians and Catholics: One Lung or Two (I Thought that Formula Died with JP2… Well, Live n’ Learn)

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Editor’s Foreword:

It’s important for us as aware Orthodox Christians to be cognizant of what’s going on around us. Ergo, I chose three pieces that I found informative as all get-out, but crank in their assumptions. This is what our opposition truly thinks… we do ourselves a disservice if we forget that. Keep your eyes and ears open, keep your mind clear and focused, but always remember… the wolf always remains a wolf… even if he dons lamb’s clothing…

BMD

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Christendom has two lungs, Eastern and Western, and to be healthy, it must learn to breathe with both of them. Russian religious philosophers of the late Tsarist era first used that metaphor … Catholicism fascinated thinkers like Vladimir Solovyov, who felt that eastern Christians could learn from the Western church’s relatively-active presence in the world. Pope John Paul II Wojtyła took up the image again. It’ll certainly be an arresting, and perhaps disturbing, idea for Pope Francisco Bergoglio, who quite literally has only one functioning lung; he lost one during a childhood illness.

On the face of things, the Christian world has moved a bit closer, over the past 24 hours, to acquiring a fully-operative respiratory system. Bartholomew Archontonis, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople New Rome, therefore, “first among equals” in the Orthodox hierarchy {my, my, my… the old “Orthodox pope” shibboleth… don’t they ever learn?: editor}, attended yesterday’s inaugural mass for the new pontiff. The Istanbul-based cleric pointed out that he was the first Orthodox Patriarch to be present at such an event since the formal east-west split of 1054, when a papal legate rudely excommunicated his predecessor. Today, the new pope received Patriarch Bartholomew and they exchanged warm words about the need to work for full reconciliation.

Also present for the Rome festivities was another Orthodox bigwig, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev who heads the powerful external-relations arm of the Moscow Patriarchate {note the obtuse STUPIDITY of this commentator… the Blunder lost two-thirds of the former DECR and is the most-despised hierarch in the MP. It shows the dense thoughtlessness of the overeducated credentialised Western clerisy, doesn’t it?: editor}. Reports said that Pope Francisco addressed Patriarch Bartholomew… absent-mindedly or otherwise… as Andrea, signalling his respect for the Apostle Andrew, who is traditionally the guardian of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (as well as being the patron saint of Scotland and the Russian Navy). In what some will see as another subtle compliment, the pontiff’s inaugural address yesterday put particular emphasis on care for the environment, which has been a hallmark of Patriarch Bartholomew’s teaching.

Both Orthodox grandees who went to Rome belong to the relatively Western-friendly end of the Orthodox Christian spectrum. Both faced criticism from their ethnic kin (Greek and Russian respectively) for being too accommodating in their dealings with Western Christians, and, therefore, insufficiently-vigilant in their defence of Orthodox doctrine. Two years ago, Patriarch Bartholomew issued a strong rebuttal of this charge, saying truth should have no fear of dialogue. For different reasons, both hierarchs feel comfortable in Italy. The Constantinople patriarch, who grew up on the Turkish island of Gökçeada or Imbros, is a fine linguist who studied in Italy and mastered Italian as well as his native Greek and Turkish. Metropolitan Hilarion is an accomplished composer (sic) who has been to Italy for gala performances of his works {Hilarion loves Italy, for he gets the recognition there that he lacks in Russia. He’s only a minor composer mostly unknown in larger musical circles… he’s never broken into the “big-time”… he’s pumped up by his papist allies, that’s the only reason this present author knows that at all: editor}.

Therefore, if personal chemistry were the only thing required to get Orthodox and Catholics breathing in sync, the way ahead might be clear. Unfortunately, things aren’t so simple. For one thing, intra-Orthodox quarrels have overshadowed several recent meetings between Orthodox and Catholic theologians. For another, the burden of history is heavy. Some Orthodox Christians root their suspicion of Rome in the events of 1204, when an army of Latin crusaders sacked Constantinople. The Orthodox also cherish the memory of St Mark of Ephesus, a lone voice in defence of Orthodox doctrine at the Council of Florence in 1439, when many of his fellow bishops were (as the Orthodox memory has it) bamboozled into a theological surrender to the West.

For better or for worse, the Orthodox Christians of Byzantium (sic) refused in the end to make doctrinal compromises with the West, which might have won them military support against the advancing Turks, and this made the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans, in 1453, inevitable. This left Orthodox with an enduring suspicion that, at critical moments, the West will refuse to either help at all, or, offer help only on unacceptably harsh terms. That is also how some Greek-Cypriots feel about their country’s current financial agonies.

20 March 2013

“Erasmus”

The Economist

http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2013/03/orthodox-christians-and-catholics

Editor’s Afterword:

I thought that the “Two Lungs” formula was dated and dead (it does have the stale whiff of the ‘80s about it, doesn’t it?), buried with JP2. Although Erasmus shows themselves ignorant of Orthodox affairs, it’s clear that this commentator isn’t a papist cheerleader. Yet, it shows how the premises of the Western clerisy are flawed to the point of incoherency. That will doom their project of global hegemony. History has not come to an end… Fukuyama was wrong… should we hold a wienie roast using his books as the fuel? Perspirin’ minds wanna know…

BMD

The New Pope and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church: From the “Economist”… Not Spot-On at All, but it’s a “Read n’ Heed”

This is a typical Galician Uniate nutter… can you truly take such sorts seriously? After all, they DID collaborate quite willingly with the Nazis…

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Editor’s Foreword:

Here’s another piece to read n’ heed… its wrong, but it tells you the viewpoint of the papists and the Anglosphere élite, and that’s a good thing to know. Caveat lector…

BMD

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Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk, a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, recently expressed hope that the new pope, Francisco Bergoglio, will continue the policy of rapprochement with the Orthodox Church and that he won’t support, what [Hilarion] calls the expansion of the Ukrainian Greek Catholics, saying, “The Unia is the most painful topic in the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue, in relations between the Orthodox and the Catholics. If the pope supports the Unia, then, of course, it’d bring no good”. The metropolitan is worried… it’s said that the new pope has an affinity for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC). So much so, that one Russian commentator claimed that in Francisco, “we have a Ukrainian pope”. This may worsen relations between Orthodox and Catholics.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church confuses most outsiders; it’s an Eastern rite church in communion with the Vatican. Drawing on the Christian legacy of medieval Kievan-Rus‘, it was officially founded through the 1596 Union of Brest (hence, the church’s other widespread name, Uniate). “Greek” was added later to distinguish it from the Roman Catholic Church. Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the UGCC, said that Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the new pope, had a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest as his mentor, and is familiar with the Church’s rites, says . Previously, Major Archbishop Shevchuk served in Buenos Aires and got to know the future pope there. Many in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church hope that Francisco would elevate it to a patriarchate, from its status as a Major Archiepiscopate. Today, Greek Catholics make up about 15 percent of the Ukrainian population. Most of them live in the west of the country, including the city of Lvov, and they have a strong presence in the Ukrainian diaspora. After almost half a century of persecution under Soviet rule, the Church resurfaced as one of the pillars of national identity in the Western Ukraine. It’s an influential force here, although it has kept its distance from politics.

Someone once quipped, “In the rest of the Ukraine, religious people go to church; in Lvov, everyone goes to church”. The city is famous for its panoply of churches, most of them now Greek Catholic, although it still has both a Roman Catholic and an Armenian cathedral. Up until 1941, Lvov was also an important centre of the Jewish religion. In the mornings, the sound of the liturgy, sung in Ukrainian, spills out into the cobbled streets. Lvov Business School, part of the Ukrainian Catholic University, affiliated with the [Ukrainian Greek Catholic] Church, combines business education with ethics. Sophia Opatska, the School’s chief executive, said that they try to encourage “trust, openness, and ethics” in the new generation of business leaders, to help change negative trends in the Ukraine. She added that this is especially important in the Ukraine, where “business often takes on social and economic responsibilities that belong to government in democratic countries”.

On 7 April, crowds of Greek Catholics joined a procession through Lvov representing the Way of the Cross, slowing down  traffic. The Church’s leaders have already invited Pope Francisco to visit the Ukraine. The new pope himself has made no special mention of the Ukraine since his election as the Ukrainian media pointed up. All the same, many of Ukraine’s Greek Catholics eagerly await the visit of Pope Francisco, the closest they’ve had to a Ukrainian pope.

12 April 2013

The Economist

http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2013/04/ukraines-greek-catholic-church

Editor’s Afterword:

The Galician Uniates are the Great White Hope of not only the papists, but of the American rightwing. Indeed, they wish to separate Orthodox in the Ukraine from the MP and entice them into the Western-dominated Unia. Such is their project; it’s clear to all concerned. I’ll predict that its only result will be a strengthening of Orthodoxy and a rededication to our opposition of the Unia and all its works. The Westerners and righties will regret having stirred up this pot… they’ll have woken up a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve. Thus always to tyrants and their machinations…

Oh, one last thing… do note the deafening silence by the author on the Orthodox clergy killed and the churches stolen or destroyed by Western-financed Uniate mobs… in the West’s eyes, some people ARE “more  human” than others are. None dare call it what it is… after all, the West doesn’t engage in such things, dontcha know (their media tells us so daily, doesn’t it?)…

BMD