He who places his hope on thee, O Virgin all-glorious, will prosper in all he does.

Inscription on Byzantine coin during reign of Romanus III



Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Timely View, Second Helping

I like this interview so much that I've decided to post another excerpt:

The Vatican does not take steps thoughtlessly nor naively. Every tour of each Pope has as its aim to present him as the worldwide leader of Christianity. At this point, however, he is neither a canonical Bishop, nor Orthodox, such that he is in no place to present himself as having the first place among bishops.

Met. Athanasios of Lemesou

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Timely View


He [the Pope] has been outside of the Church for ten centuries now, he is not a canonical bishop, he has no relation whatsoever to the reality of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of Christ. It is one thing to receive him as a canonical bishop and quite another to speak to him as [being] a heterodox in order to reveal to him the truth of the Orthodox Faith and Tradition.


Met. Athanasios of Lemesou

The Patriarch's Prize In Cinema

Fitting recognition for the best examples of Orthodox cinema.

According to Alexiy II’s personal observations, there are more and more films in Russia 'that contain a call for spiritual perfection and that give examples of highly moral behavior'.

Milking Sovereign Immunity

As a secular ruler, Old Rome's Vicar of Christ is immune from questioning and prosecution in civil matters.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Bye Bye to Met. Theodosius' Thingy

The OCA reached a settlement with the Kondraticks.

...whatev...

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Mille Regretz

One of the few Kyries that I like is composed by Cristobal de Morales in his Missa Mille Regretz:





This is probably the right speed, but I innately prefer a snappier tempo:





This Mass setting was based on Josquin des Pres' secular chanson, Mille Regretz:





Basing Mass settings on secular songs was a Protestant complaint during the Reformation.

Another Commendable Palestrina Motet and Gloria



The Motet and Gloria are from Palestrina's Missa Hodie Christus Natus Est.

They're being conducted a little slower than I'd prefer.

Ecumenist Tidbits

I'm convinced that, if God has a hand in the unfolding of daily events, He has a sense of humor. Consider the following:

1. A woman told me that her husband is trying to convince her to switch from the Roman Rite to the Unia. She'd like me to answer his questions about "Eastern" stuff.

2. Another RC woman, who's currently teaching a class for prospective First Communicants, asked me to explain transubstantiation to her, which I managed to do without singing Tantum Ergo. She then invited me to be a guest lecturer at her class. Envisioning a lecture entitled, "Broad Path v. Narrow Path", I advised her to ask her padre first. I haven't heard back, thank goodness.