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Editor:
My interlocutor is in plain type; I’m in italics and indented.
BMD
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Most likely, you use the Authorised Version. You’ll both find these sites to be amazingly helpful resources!
http://www.kjvtoday.com/
http://www.thekingsbible.com/
I’m trying to publicise these sites as much as possible. I can’t see how they’d find a “place” on your blog but perhaps you could send them around to Orthodox folks you know?
Of course… I use the KJV/AV in all my scripture quotes, as it’s the closest equivalent in English terms to the Russian of the Synodal Edition. I could post something… as part of one of my periodic “chats with readers”… I’m due for one…
It amazes me how many Christians hate the AV. Why? It goes like this:
Reformer:
Oh! I never use the KJV! I prefer modern translations. After all, they all say the same thing. There’s no place where the modern translations contradict any Christian dogma! (BTW: not true)
Traditionalist:
Oh! OK! Since there’s “no contradiction”, we’ll keep using the KJV.
Reformer:
NOOOOOOOOOOO!
Yup. These sites expose the failings of the modern translations and support the AV’s validity. Did you know that St Kyrillos Lukaris, Patriarch of Constantinople, sent manuscripts to the AV translators? It has Orthodox roots! Kyrillos was Patriarch of Alexandria then. Alexandria glorified him as a saint in 2009 or thereabouts.
It’s the same argument used by those who want to drop Staroslav. I’d say that there’s less confusion than the intellectuals think. Firstly, the babas are NOT confused. Secondly, Staroslav is closer to modern Slavic languages than Old English is… for instance, some egghead idiots want to get rid of “zhivot”… well, the Modern Russian word for animal is “zhivotne” (“living thing”), so, I’d submit that the “confusion” is merely in the eyes of academic charlatans with a “reforming” itch… like the late Aleksandr Dmitryevich Schmemann!
Remember the “Reform” of Church Slavonic that everyone touted? You mentioned this on your blog. In time, the MP decided it was a waste of time. Obviously, some prissy “theological” types stirred a tempest in a teapot. Then, the Church looked to where the rubber met the road and dumped the whole idea. I’m sure that they’re writing tear-soaked epistles to Syosset…
I mean it…it’s time for Russian Orthodox people here in the diaspora to start seriously talking unity… it’s the only way that we’ll keep the feral in check. I’ll be blunt… I think that there’d be a “Rump OCA” after such a union… but the healthy parts would “come home”. It’s TIME… it’s time to overlook minor disagreements… we NEED to be together… that’s the lesson of the Ukrainian Civil War… the Ukies have unity, ergo their voice is heard. We’re shunted to the side… it’s our own fault!
However, you’re aware that Great Russian chauvinism is the curse of our unity? They disdain Rusins, Byelorussians, and Russophile Ukrainians and THAT has been the cause of our disunity. Don’t EVEN get the NEPA sorts started on THAT topic. “We’re ‘HIGH Russians’ and you people are ‘LOW Russians’. You’ll do as WE say”. UGH. Can you fight THAT?
Veliki Rus is the core of Holy Rus, but it isn’t the only part… Great Russia is the largest partner at table, but not the only one. God willing, “High Russians” like me can help move things right…
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I’m surprised that some elements in the Church use Evangelical distortions of Scripture. Such groups are only barely Christian (if they’re such at all)… not all those who say, “Lord, Lord”, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven… their ahistoricity and lack of a coherent liturgy, for me, put them outside of Christendom altogether. They’re pseudo-Christian sectarians, with no real and substantial ties to historical Christianity at all. Look at the Mormons, Pentecostalists, and megachurchers… to say the least, if we apply the standard of “lex orandi, lex credendi”, it’s clear that Evangelicals aren’t Christian at all. They have a bowdlerised distortion of the Holy Scriptures, no worship, no reverence, and no iconography… they’re closer to Muslims than they are to Christians (yet, look at how they HATE Muslims… when they’re closer to them than they are to REAL Christians). On top of that, they proselytise with vigour amongst our faithful… sane people don’t put an adder to their breasts!
We ordained far too many converts without insisting that they have sufficient time amongst us and without insisting that they pursue a FULL Orthodox clerical formation (that DOES take YEARS). Look at poseurs such as Josiah Trenham, and you can get a feel for what I’m saying. It’s coming home to haunt us. I fear that we’ll have a schism… either, we must recapture Orthodoxy in its fullness, or we’ll degenerate into “Evangelicals with a liturgical itch” (Fathausen was a sterling exemplar of such, with his signature on the Extreme Rightwing and Anti-Church “Manhattan Declaration”).
As always, the choice is yours…
BMD
Voices from Russia 
Vladimir Legoida Slams “Conchita Wurst”… Calls It “One More Step Towards the Abandonment of the Christian Identity of European Culture”
Tags: Bible, Christian, Christian Identity, Christianity, Church, Culture of Europe, Eastern Orthodox Church, EU, European Union, Eurovision Song Contest, mass media, Moscow Patriarchate, Orthodox, Orthodoxy, political commentary, politics, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, Russia, Russian, Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Legoida
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V R Legoida head of the MP Synodal Information Department (SINFO) told our correspondent that the Church expressed concern about the victory of Austrian transvestite Thomas Neuwirth (who appeared as “Conchita Wurst”) at the Eurovision-2014 Song Contest, saying, “This is yet another link in the chain of cultural legitimisation of sin in the modern world, an attempt to fasten down new cultural norms. It’s an attempt to legalise that which the Bible refers to as nothing but an abomination, but such is no longer news in the world today. Unfortunately, trends in legal and cultural fields are on parallel paths, as shown by the results of the contest. The cultural recognition of this phenomenon is even more dangerous than the legal, as it often precedes it… it tries to establish it as a right or it tries to change the values orientation of society. Accordingly, sadly, the attempt in modern culture to change moral and cultural values has been quite successful. Therefore, it was very strange for me to hear some experts proclaim… ‘It’s nothing special; it was really nothing’. That’s the thing, such changes are obvious, not only from the standpoint of traditional religion. If I’m honest, I must state that I see a change of cultural and moral guidelines. In other words, this is one more step towards abandoning the Christian identity of European culture”.
Vladimir Romanovich gave his comments as the victor of the Eurovision contest appeared as a bearded woman.
Editor:
A priest friend asked me to go to the Russian original as he saw a poor Proddie translation of V R Legoida’s remarks. We have to be clear what this is and what it’s not. It’s NOT a call for the illegalisation of homosexuality… that’s not going to happen, as President Putin opposes such. It’s NOT an attack on medically indicated transsexuals, as the state’s allowed them to change their identity documents since 1997, on presentation of the proper medical documentation (the Church hasn’t condemned this move… it hasn’t approved it, either… a priest told me that was to keep the way clear for bishops to use pastoral discretion). It IS a clear and obvious criticism of public gender-benders and other “gender-queer” activists, which is a logical outgrowth of the present law on the ban on the suborning of minors by homosexuals and the new law on the banning of obscene topics in the media. It’s obvious that one doesn’t want kids exposed to this. In any case, it falls under the legal prohibition on two counts. Vladimir Romanovich is stating the Church’s position very clearly and precisely… the Proddie Evangelical media mistranslated him and distorted his points. Legoida is simply reiterating our unchanged position. However, bear in mind that the Church DOES make exceptions via oikonomia… but it NEVER extends its tolerance (NOT blessing) to those who engage in “in-your-face” activity. Oikonomia IS a two-way street… the Church meets those who come halfway to meet it… not those who engage in narcissistic public exhibitionism.
Be focused in your statements… BE CAREFUL… this topic can bring you mucho grief if you present it wrongly.
12 May 2014
Interfax-Religion
http://interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=55244