Putin… the New Orthodox Tsar… “He Who Restrains”

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The Abbots of Mount Athos insisted that President V V ‪Putin stand where the Emperor of New Rome stood; they’re right. As a man, Putin is a truly devout ‪Orthodox believer; as a statesman, Vladimir Vladimirovich devotes himself to the security (not physical expansion) of his country. He’s the head of the most powerful Orthodox country. By this, they sent out a powerful message. The Athonite Fathers know what sort of man they look at… the Defender of ‪Holy ‎Orthodoxy.

29 May 2016

This is Christian Syria

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Editor:

By this, the Athonite Fathers aren’t only making a political statement… they’re making a theological one as well. Only the Christian Emperor can call an Ecumenical Council. No Patriarch can do so… no local synod can do so… no assemblage of bishops, clergy, or lay believers can do so. Only the Christian Emperor can do so according to our practise. Thorough this, I think that the Athonite Fathers commented upon the upcoming “Council”  in Crete (really, nothing but a talk-shop meeting) and about him who called it. If only the Christian Emperor can call a Council, and V V Putin is the current “emperor”, what does that say about the legitimacy of the upcoming meeting? After all, VVP didn’t call it and he’s the only person who can do so, according to our customary usage.

The Mountain speaks… shall we listen? Shall we attend to their advice and standpoint? I think that the MP and its allies shall… they have the Mountain on their side. What does that tell us about the EP and its machinations? Nothing good, I’d warrant…

BMD

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Something that the West Overlooks in a “Grexit”

The Baptism of Grand Princess St Olga

Part 1 of the Triptych Holy Rus

Sergei Kirillov

1993

This was the baptism of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Princess St Olga… the grandmother of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Prince St Vladimir, the Enlightener of all the Russias. It happened at Hagia Sofia (Church of the Holy Wisdom of the Incarnate Word of God) in Constantinopolis, in the 10th century AD (some say 955, others say 957). Russians haven’t forgotten that… neither have Greeks. Russians and Greeks go WAY back. By the way… one of the things in contention in the present Ukrainian Civil War/War of Liberation of Novorossiya is the “ownership” of the legacy of St Vladimir. Is he “Uniate” or is he “Orthodox?” That’s why no Orthodox Christian can support the US Republican Party… they support those who advance the Uniate argument in that case. Just sayin’…

BMD

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Editor:

This is an excerpt from a longer, rather boring, piece by a humdrum Affluent Effluent self-important “wealth advisor”. However, this part not only rings true, it’s rather good. If you really want to read the rest of his neoliberal crapola, click the link at the end. This part, though, is a real read n’ heed.

I retained the original author’s emphasis.

BMD

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I wish to remind my readers of one unseen risk in all this, one that literally no one else has talked about. Southern Europe and much of the Balkans, whilst nominally “Western” in lip service, is really a long-lost religious remnant of the Eastern world.  The mediaeval Orthodox world was born from the Orthodox Byzantine Empire (sic), which stretched from Asia Minor, all the way through the Balkans, and westward as far as Serbia! The Greeks, who always had a great deal in common with Russia, are of the same Orthodox religious cloth as the Russians are. Both Russia and Greece represent ancient civilisations, formed by Constantinople. Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, and even parts of Bosnia all have the same religious lineage… they’ve all felt for centuries that they were “fish out of water” within Catholic Europe.  Excepting Romania, there’s almost a direct ecumenical “land bridge” connecting Russia to the Balkans (remember, the Ukraine is very much Orthodox).  

“Watchman, I think you’re making too big a deal out of this religious angle!”

Maybe, but ask yourself… what would a Grexit mean for Russia and the Orthodox world?

A Grexit would serve to re-establish an autonomous independent Orthodox foothold on the European continent (which Russia would quickly make a key partner). Therefore, a Grexit would effectively create a symbiotic relationship between Greece and Russia, creating an economic and cultural “magnetic pull” upon the rest of Orthodox Southern Europe, drawing them to parts further East (further into Russia’s sphere of influence). A Grexit would be a dream come true for Moscow, as it’d take the by-gone dream of a geographically unified all-Orthodox world (as well as the entire Eurasian trade zone) one huge step closer to reality.

Trust me, if Greece leaves the EU, they’d find a most hearty reception in Eurasia, as it’d be a religious homecoming! Moreover, what of Orthodox Bulgaria?  Do you think that the Bulgarians are maybe feeling more than a tad bit slighted, after Brussels and DC forced them to give up South Stream to the Turks (their historic enemies)?  There’s so much going on here that 99 percent of commentators are totally missing. Look, I understand that some of you aren’t religious, but when we’re talking about geopolitics and the make-up of civilisation itself, don’t underestimate the important reality of religious considerations that come into play here. Besides… Merkel doesn’t want Greece (and its newly discovered hydrocarbon reserves) to slip through her fingers. With Russia acquiring a huge, new energy boon in its reunification with the Crimea, The EU’s list of friends with untapped extensive hydrocarbon reserves is growing rather thin!

26 January 2015

The Wealth Watchman

http://thewealthwatchman.com/the-hidden-threat-of-this-greek-situation/

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Bulgarian Martyrs

Konstantin Makovsky

1877

Such events as those pictured in the painting did occur in the Ottoman-ruled Balkans. The worst of the Ottoman bullyboys were the Albanians, their cruelty, barbarity, and rapine was well-known, yet, they often showed cowardice in open battle. Not much has changed in that regard, has it? The locals welcomed the Russian troops as liberators from Turkish oppression wherever they went. The ordinary people of the Balkans have never forgotten that the Russians freed them from slavery. Only small minorities of the so-called local élites support the USA and its militant nihilism. Most Balkan people still support Russia and Orthodoxy. NATO had best not count on any of its Balkan members; they’re in for a rude surprise…

BMD

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Editor:

In Mediaeval Europe, until its treacherous sack by perfidious Crusaders in 1204, Constantinopolis Nea Romana (Constantinople New Rome) was the brightest light of civilisation on the continent. It was the literal lineal embodiment of the Roman Empire… indeed, that’s what it called itself… “Rhomania”… ROME. It wasn’t Rome’s successor… it WAS Rome… they never tired of reminding the Western barbarians of that fact. It was NEVER the “Byzantine Empire”… that’s a nasty German 16th century neologism that no Orthodox Christian should ever use.

As Constantinopolis was “I Polis” (THE City), so, Moscow is “the Centre” today. Moscow is as much the centre of the Orthodox World (Orthosphere) today as Constantinopolis was the centre of the Orthodox World prior to its final fall in 1453. As Hagia Sophia was the main temple of all Orthodoxy then, the Khram Spasitelya in Moscow is the main temple of all Orthodoxy worldwide today. If you’re Orthodox… you’re a “Muscovite”. Just as being Orthodox at one time meant being “Greek”… today, you’re “Russian”… even if you’re Greek! V V Putin went to the Mountain… to an ecstatic welcome from the Fathers there. V F Yanukovich went to the Mountain regularly on otpust, with the blessing of his late starets Zosima Sokur. The Fathers gave him an equally enthusiastic welcome. Don’t listen to Uniate lies about Viktor Fyodorovich… he was much more honest than the Rabbit is (after all, the Rabbit was Yuliya the Landshark’s bagman; he stole much more than Yanukovich ever did… remember the Kiev “street” gibe, “The Rabbit shits in a solid gold toilet”)… reflect on this, Yanukovich was the MOST honest president that the Ukraine ever had.

Russia’s traditional foreign policy has been to liberate the Orthodox lands of the Balkans and to keep them free of papist interference. No one in the Balkans (INCLUDING Romania) has ever forgotten the Russian liberation of their lands in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 and their subsequent betrayal by the Brits and Germans (the very same parties, along with their American cousins, are interfering there today). No one has forgotten the “White Marshal”… Marshal Skobelyov… who led the victorious armies to the gates of Tsargrad (Constantinople).

In short, the war in the Ukraine and the coming Western interference in Greek internal affairs are nothing new for the hubristic West. SYRIZA had best keep its wits about them or its leadership will end up dead like Allende… the Anglos and Germans are nasty-ass terrorists of the worst-possible sort… they make al-Qaeda look infantile in comparison. Look at the Bush torture programme, the Holocaust, the British firestorm air raids of World War II, Lidice’s destruction, the drone murder campaign, the concentration camps of the Boer War, the Easter Bombing of Belgrade, Wounded Knee, and the Gitmo Gulag. I do daresay that the West’s shield isn’t pure (and hasn’t been, from the start)… yet, they caterwaul incessantly about “human rights” and about how “exceptional” they are.

Excuse me… I have to find a corner to be sick in… there’s only so much of that arrant shit that a decent person can take.

BMD

The Religious Roots of Russia’s Mistrust towards the West

Right-Believing Grand Prince St Aleksandr Nevsky stopped the absorption of Russia into Catholic Europe and thus saved the Russian Orthodox faith

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There’s something in the Russian collective memory that causes Russian mistrust towards the West. Does this mistrust have religious roots? I don’t disagree completely with some of the points made in the article Anti-Western Sentiment as the Basis for Russian Unity, heavily criticised by fellow RI contributor Eric Kraus. Russian identity has a deeper anti-Western sentiment than implied by the recent rise of anti-Western sentiment among Russians, primarily caused by what they perceive as American and NATO aggression. So what is one of the main causes of Russia’s historical mistrust towards the West? For centuries, the Vatican tried to convert Russian Orthodox Christians to Catholicism. They succeeded in doing so with Orthodox Christians in the Western Ukraine and in parts of the Western Balkans. Even today, Vatican zealotry is alive and well. The Vatican is trying to achieve a “church union with Orthodox Christians”, of course under the primacy of the Pope. Russians saw foreign invaders… the Vatican, together with Swedish and Polish forces, Napoleon, Hitler, and NATO… as violent symbols of Western civilisation.

However, Russian identity didn’t gel as a reaction or historical reflex to Western expansionism. In its nature, Russian culture isn’t anti-Western or based on antagonism towards foreign civilisations or concepts.Many Russians would argue that Russian identity belongs to a different civilisational “code” as a successor of the great traditions and civilisation of New Rome. That’s the reason the Russian Empire was for centuries considered the Third Rome. Orthodox civilisation differs from its Western counterpart in terms of values, tradition, religion, and so on. Just read Samuel Huntington’s A Clash of Civilisations. Huntington posits that people’s cultural and religious identities would be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. Many would argue that this is exactly what’s happening in today’s world. Most of the recent conflicts have either religious or cultural causes. In addition, bloody civil wars in the Balkans, and now in the Ukraine, had a strong religious and civilisational dimension to them.

Let’s not forget that many American and European Christian conservatives support Putin because of his Christian vision and pro-family values. Maybe, could this be a reaction to their own governments’ openly anti-Christian and anti-family approach to social issues?

7 November 2014

Danmir Marinović

Russia-Insider

http://russia-insider.com/en/culture_christianity_society/2014/11/07/09-33-37am/religious_roots_russias_mistrust_towards_west

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Here’s what Mr Marinović wrote to an interlocutor in the commboxes:

I was referring to the Vatican, not to ordinary Catholic believers. There’s a big difference between good ordinary Catholics on one side and the corrupted Vatican and “infallible” Pope on the other. Click here for an excellent article about Vatican and Russia. As Dostoyevsky pointed up, “Papism is more dangerous than atheism, since it presents to us a profane and desecrated Christ usurping the earthly throne”, the Pope took the sword and added, “lies, intrigue, deception, fanaticism, and villainy”. Papism is dangerous precisely because it offers a counterfeit Christ.

You obviously deceive yourself when you claim that the Popes didn’t want to subordinate Orthodox for centuries. Yes, they didn’t ask for the Latin Mass, but they did ask us to admit the primacy of the Pope and to consider him “infallible in matters of faith”, which is blasphemy. As far as the power-hungry Vatican is concerned, you can worship God as you want, as long as you subordinate yourself to the Pope. The Pope replaced Christ; he’s the God in the Vatican church. There’s no place for Christ next to the Pope; you just need to adore the Pope and you’ll be saved. In regard to theological and other important differences between Catholics and the Orthodox Church, please, click here, here, and here.

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If you’d like to learn more what Catholic clergy did to “their Christian brothers”, to Orthodox Christians, in the Second World War, please, look at this documentary. Moreover, this documentary only relates the Vatican’s misdeeds in World War II; I’m not even mentioning any other tragic historical events related to the Vatican and Orthodox Christians. THE VATICAN’S HOLOCAUST isn’t a misnomer, an accusation, and even less a speculation. It’s a historical fact. Rabid nationalism and religious dogmatism were its two main ingredients. During the existence of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) as an independent Catholic State, over 700,000 men, women and children perished. Many were executed, tortured, died of starvation, buried alive, or were burned to death. Thousands were forced to become Catholic. Catholic padres ran concentration camps; Catholic priests were officers of the military that committed such atrocities. 700,000 in a total population of a few million, proportionally, would be as if a Catholic militia exterminated one-third of the American population.

The Ustaša slaughtered Serbs, Jews, and the Roma were in their villages after unspeakable tortures or burned alive in their churches. Those they didn’t murder, they expelled to Serbia proper after despoiling them of all their property or forcibly converting to the Roman Catholic faith by Franciscan and Roman Catholic clergy. Many suffered as slave labourers. The remaining people went to concentration camps where the majority perished. From gold and money stolen from these people, the Vatican enabled Nazis to escape to Argentina, on the so-called “ratlines”. Pope John Paul ll declared war criminal Alojzije Viktor Stepinac beatified in 1998.

I’d add that a good place to find some more intel on this is here, scroll down to “Dmitri Anatolyevich at the Radonezh Orthodox Gymnazia in Moscow”, then, scroll past the Vasnetsov painting and under the image of D A Belyukin, read that. There’s a lot of good stuff in that post… D A Belyukin is a People’s Painter of Russia, an Orthodox activist, a Russian patriot, and a world-class painter. Here’s the main quote:

Dmitri Anatolyevich asked, “Did you know that Prince Aleksandr Nevsky had a dilemma? He could go to war against the Horde or against the enemies from the West. Why do you think that he chose to face the latter threat?” The students replied, “Because they wanted to force Russia to convert to their faith!” Dmitri Anatolyevich replied, “The answer’s correct, harsh as it is. That is, the Tatars were content with tribute, they didn’t infringe upon the Faith, and they didn’t notice that Igumen Sergei of Radonezh had started to stir up the depths of the Russian land. The Westerners, on the other hand, wanted to bring their crusades to Russia, which, in many respects, the current popes carry out both covertly and openly. Therefore, it’s even more necessary for all of us to protect Orthodoxy as the mainstay and foundation of the unity of the nation”.

I also posted this… here’s the main quote:

It’s a frightening snapshot of the mindset of the Tea Party. They’re nothing but nativist Know-Nothings. It’s why we as Orthodox Christians can have nothing to do with them. They’re American Sectarians through-and-through. Their defining ideology is “Dominion Theology”, which states that the Bible (in its distorted and bowdlerised Proddie recension) trumps all civil law. Orthodox can’t have anything to do with that… our theology speaks of the symphonia of Church and State, each in its proper sphere, each with its own proper laws.

Many American Orthodox have succumbed to the siren song of American Sectarianism. After all, there are MILLIONS of them and only about a million Orthodox all told, of all “flavours”, in the USA. We must recognise that sectarianism is the greatest enemy to Our Lord Christ that exists in our country. Atheism doesn’t even come close to them… secularism is a pale opponent in comparison. A Russian priest wrote to me, “Sectarians use the name of Christ, but they aren’t of Him or in Him. They aren’t Christians, they’re of Satan”.

Orthodoxy isn’t defined “against” anything or anyone… it has its own positive dynamic. It stands alone… it’d exist even if there wasn’t a West or a Vatican or a Protestantism. We don’t define ourselves in comparison with anyone else. We are what we are… they are what they are… that’s what sober normal people think, any road. The same is true of Russian and Holy Rus… we aren’t Russian because we’re “not Westerners”… we’re Russians as Holy Rus is the successor of New Rome… we owe NOTHING to the West, and certainly not to drooling Anglo American toddler “conservatives” or “liberals” (both are two sides of a perverted neoliberal ideology that’s satanic to the bone). Russia has its own inner logic, wisdom, civilisation, faith, and folkways. We wish to live in peace with all people of good will… however… all those who march on Russia will be put to death! As it was, as it is, as it ever shall be!

One last thing… Samuel K Huntington did NOT originate the idea of “civilisational blocs”… that goes back to S M Solovyov in the 19th century (he was the father of the famous religious thinker V S Solovyov). Sergei Mikhailovich was one of the greatest Russian historians, but how many Westerners are even aware of his existence?

BMD

19 October 2014. 1,000 Years of St Olav!

Right-Believing Kings St Olav II Haraldsson of Norway and Stefan Uroš III Dečanski Nemanjić of Serbia

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It’s been 1,000 years… a full millennium… since the Baptism of Right-Believing King St Olav II Haraldsson of Norway in Rouen. He baptised and enlightened his people, stopping endemic civil strife, but he died in battle in 1030 fighting rebellious nobles. A year later, in 1031, the Church canonised him “with the agreement of the whole Norwegian people”. In his homeland, people call him “the eternal king”. He’s amongst the last of the Western European Orthodox saints and there are churches in Russia dedicated to St Olav, notably in Novgorod and in Staraya Ladoga, where he lived for several years. There’s another link with Orthodoxy and Norway… the most loyal soldiers in Constantinople New Rome were the Varangian Guard, who served from the 10th to the 14th centuries… who came from England, the Nordic countries, and Russia. Most of them fell in battle in the Fourth Crusade fighting the papist invaders. This unit lost its mostly Nordic character after that event.

Raise a glass and cheer, Norskis… it’s your day!

BMD