Quick Fast

I belong to a New-Calendar parish, and I was delighted with the short duration of the Apostles' Fast. Perhaps this compensates for the feeling that Pascha took forever to arrive this year.

While we're on the subject of calendars, I hear that converts tend to prefer adhering to the Old Calendar owing to fewer holiday conflicts with Western family members. You know, it's hard to simultaneously celebrate New-Calendar Christmas with your parish and biological families.

On a separate note, Gabriel considers the issue of reaching out to atheists. I'm not a big fan of that kind of outreach. Western Christianity has left a bad taste in folks' mouths through its denunciations, anti-intellectualism, and tyrannical impulses.