Orthodox Okie

Met. Anthony of Blessed Memory on WRITE

2009-07-08T14:24:00.002-05:00

From an article on converting Anglican buildings for Russian Orthodox use in Australia, this small paragraph from Fr. Michael Protopopov.

"During the 1920’s, the Anglicans were writing the New Book of Common Prayer; it was very Orthodox in its approach. Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky of blessed memory had even said that if the Anglicans were to accept the New Book of Common Prayer there would be very little separating the Orthodox and the Anglicans, and perhaps they could even be recognized as equal to ourselves. Unfortunately, they never did accept the New Book of Common Prayer, and therefore the unity between the two Churches never went ahead. However, the Anglicans still retained a great fondness for the Orthodox and supported us all the way through until Warrnambool 10 years ago."

The New Book of Common Prayer referred to was the English 1928 Proposed Book of Common Prayer (also called the Deposited Book.) This book was partly updated from the 1662 English BCP by members of the Alcuin Club following the Russian Observations Upon the American Prayer Book which was "a report drawn up by order of the committee appointed by the Holy Synod on Old Catholic and Anglican questions." This BCP, as Fr. Michael Protopopov noted, was approved by the Church of England, but rejected by the House of Commons (a failure in ecclesiology that has led to the present state of the Anglican Communion.) That is a 'could have been' - but still could be: there are still those Continuing Anglicans (APCK, HCC-AR, ACC, etc.) and Traditional Anglicans (the newly formed ACNA, or the PEV dioceses in the COE) that have members, clergy and even parishes that could bridge that "very little" that separates.

(It should be noted, the Saint Colman Prayer Book approved for use in most of ROCOR goes beyond those requirements being based on traditional English translations of the Sarum Day Hours (the Breviary excepting Nocturnes), and the Sarum Missal.The link goes to a blog run by Novice Edward where one can buy the Shorter Saint Colman Prayer Book for 18 USD.)

Protopriest Maksim Kozlov on the modern Roman rite

2009-05-23T15:57:00.002-05:00

Interesting interview - I'd like another translation into the English from the original (linked in the title), as this translation is by Oleg Michael Martynov of Una Voce Russia via Rorate-Caeli blog of Carlos Antonio Palad (and sent to us by Thomas Raines.)

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Patriarchia.ru publishes this interview of protoiereus (archpriest) Maksim Kozlov, professor at the Moscow Ecclesiastical Academy and rector of St. Tatiana Martyr church in the Moscow State University. It was first published by the Neskuchny Sad magazine, issue 5, 2009.

- Protoiereus Maksim Kozlov. How is the Catholic Church’s reform experience useful for us?

- The Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church (1962-65) has caused the most radical reforms in her history. One of the main tasks was to bring in a ‘Church open to the world’ by ‘modern exposition of religious truths’. One of the results, reproaches cast upon the Church for becoming too modern and worldly. Protoiereus Maksim Kozlov believes the main mistake to be thinking that the society in general is willing to live in a Christian way.

– What do you think was the reason behind Vatican II’s radicalism?

– We need to understand the situation of the Catholic Church by early 1960s, as well as the general situation in the world. It was the time when people both in Western Europe and, to a certain degree, in the Americas were abandoning regular participation in church life in mass. It was the era of the starting sexual revolution, of considerable parts of the society, especially the young, showing extreme sympathy towards radical left ideas, both pro-Soviet and Maoist. It was since then that Che Guevara started to be perceived as a kind of a self-sacrificing symbol, one perhaps even greater than that of Christianity. It was the time of a profound spiritual crisis, churches were deserted, and under these circumstances the Catholic Church had to react to the situation, try to find new possibilities of dialoguing with the society as it was then – perhaps, even at the price of errors. Vatican II became an attempt at the Church’s answer to the world’s secularism, like once upon a time the Catholics’ Trent answered to the Lutheran Reformation. This move itself, requiring courage and resolution, can definitely be praised.

– Which of the reforms of Vatican II do you think to be positive?

– Among the most positive turnabouts I would number the understanding, in a new way declared and, to a considerable degree, experienced by the Catholic Church, of all-Christian unity in the face of danger, of which Alexander Solzhenitsyn was writing during the same period: there are considerable powers in the world that would like no Christians to exist at all. Facing the challenges of modern era, in spite of all our doctrinal differences and their indisputable importance, there is something that unites the Christians. This is a new approach to, let me utter some terrible words, the ecumenical problem, and it was expressed by the Catholic Church and should, of course, be welcomed: at Vatican II, the Catholic Church has renounced equating herself and the Universal Church. Before the Council, Catholics have been stating: Catholic Church is the Universal Church, and now the Catholic Church describes herself as a ‘part of the Universal Church’, recognizing also the way of Orthodox East. The Orthodox are no longer schismatics (heretics) for the Catholics. The direct consequence of this is that the Catholics now recognize the validity of Sacraments celebrated in the Eastern Churches (both Orthodox and Oriental), i. e., in the Churches that retain historical episcopate. An Eastern Church Christian can receive the Sacraments in the Catholic Church without first accepting her teaching as it has been before. Of course this does not mean that we should take a similar approach to recognizing all the sacraments of the Catholic Church. Orthodox theology goes not currently provide an unequivocal answer to the question of the existence of Eucharist in Christian Churches that retain historical episcopacy but are outside of Universal Orthodoxy, such as the Catholics and the Monophysites.

As far as the changes in Vatican’s internal ‘policies’ are concerned, here I would mention a move to overcome Rome’s centuries-old clericalism as a very important issue. I mean a very stern division of the Catholic Church into two unequal parts, the teaching Church, which is the clergy, and the taught Church, which is the laity, framed already in Trent. Vatican II has repeatedly emphasized the importance of lay people, who were now able to take a more active part in the Church. The status of lay organizations has been increased, the ecclesiastic communities were recognized as an important component of the Church. This penetrates the life of Catholic Church considerably. For example, in the town of Rimini, Italy, there are annual conventions of Christians with about a million participating every year. These includes exhibitions and lectures on the Bible, there was, by the way, a large section dedicated to Solzhenitsyn this year. These conventions are initiated and conducted by lay volunteers only, the priests are not an organizing force there. Priests can be invited, take part, etc., but the lay people are the main organizers and inspirers.

As something positive, I would also mention Vatican II’s new approach to liturgical worship. Before the Council, Catholic mass was celebrated in Latin, which even among the Europeans few could understand by the middle of 20th century. And after the Catholic Church’s mission to Latin America, Africa, Asia – countries with obviously connection to Romance culture – it became clear that Latin liturgy has come into obvious conflict with the pious needs of many millions of Catholics. This [caused] switching into national languages, which, by the way, was carried out in the spirit of Eastern Christian tradition, that supposes liturgy to be celebrated in the national language of the faithful.

But the methods by which these, reforms, per se right, were carried out, were of diverse value, and the implementation of the reforms itself can not be numbered among the Council’s positive results.

When reforms are declared, there often appears a certain managerial ardor, and at times it’s not the most wise people who find themselves in the lead of the process. In practice, alas, it was not simply permitted to celebrate in national languages, but pre-reform Latin mass virtually prohibited, for it was required to get very many permissions virtually from Vatican itself in order to celebrate it. People who wanted to pray in the old way, especially the clergy, appeared so disloyal and suspicious in the eyes of the predominating trend that Latin worship has virtually ceased to exist.

From the very beginning already, the Council’s reforms have invoked criticism from two directions. The ‘left’ majority were unhappy with lack of radicalism. People who lived in the Western secular society with its priority of human rights as a humanist secular value, and still identifying themselves as Catholics, wondered why has not the Council permitted female priests, abolished celibacy, granted even more rights (like those enjoyed by the priests) to the laity, or allowed divorce and abortions.

The ‘right’ criticism is connected with the name of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1905-1991). He and his followers criticized Vatican II in a number of aspects: for its excessive ecumenism, for the liturgical reforms that have, in their view, caused the loss of sacral language of worship as well as the secularization of liturgical awareness. Indeed, the secularized understanding of liturgy was one of the reforms’ negative consequences. This manifested in excessive emphasis on the ‘horizontal’ component, i. e. the fellowship of the faithful, to the prejudice of ‘vertical component’, which is the congregation’s aspiration for Heaven. The altars were taken out of the sanctuary into the middle of the churches, the priests were now celebrating facing the people and not what we would call the synthronon, as it was before, there were unrestrained and numerous variants of translations and ordos for celebrating mass. There was a rupture, loss of the liturgy’s identity and sameness. Before, for example, a Catholic could everywhere, from Africa to Polynesia, come to a service and realize that he was attending a mass, but this is not so now.

Lefebvre is absolutely correct in his criticism of the progress ideology, adopted by the Catholic Church, where ‘progress’ as progressive motion of the society is considered as a religious value regardless of this society’s religious status. This means that growth of material benefits, gentler morals, tolerance towards different value systems, human rights – regardless of their connection with Christianity are taken as a positive value. The society is estimated more by the presence or growth of these categories of progress than by the grade and quality of its piety. This is something which the Orthodox Church, of course, can not agree with.

The idea of progress is associated with the notion of ‘anonymous Christianity’, developed at Vatican II. It means that not only people who visibly belong to the Church, but also those who do not openly run counter to her, to her spirit, are recognized as those not alien to her. This can perhaps be true for non-Christian countries, for communities that have not encountered the Gospel. But this is absolutely inapplicable to European and American society that is, step by step, turning away from Christianity. This is not anonymous Christianity but rather apostasy from God and the Church.

The Catholic Church’s experience after the reforms shows: in spite of the Church’s coming to meet the society trying to become more modern, intelligible, and close to this society, the society did not come to meet the Church. This is to be realized and admitted, practically, historiosophically, and eschatologically: to expect that the society in its majority will be willing to reaccept Christian values not as declarations but as norms implemented in real life means to live in an illusion.

Another important lesson that we can learn from the experience of Vatican II is how cautiously should we approach the centuries-old Church Tradition, first of all in the field of liturgy. It is important to recognize that we are on the same side with the Catholics, also suffering from certain impenitence among a considerable part of churchgoing folk, a view that service is something not to be understood but rather to incite a kind of pious mood. On the other hand, it is important to realize that the way to modifying the liturgy should not be through its adaptation to the society’s simplistic conceptions formed by the mass media and simply by the very low level of education in the humanities. Christianity as such is something complicated. But understanding Church Slavonic it is not the most complicated thing in Christianity. Rather we should put the question, and look for the answer, on how to bring the beauty and significance of this liturgy to the people.

St. Brendan in Florida?

2008-11-08T17:47:00.000-06:00

The Gaelic foundation of Orthodox Catholic Christianity in America in the 1st Millenium.

Follow the link for an extract from "From A History of the Irish Settlers in North America" by Thomas D'Arcy McGee. About the Icelandic records of 'Irland it Mikla' (Ireland the Great) in the region from Virginia to Florida. Hvitramannaland - White-robed men's land, being conterminous with Dixie.

There are strong local oral traditions about this and similar matters - including that of St. Brendan making his landfall at what is today Jacksonville, FL on the St. John's River (later in the colonial period, site of the first attempt in the region by the French - who were burned out by the Spanish when St. Augustine's was founded down the coast.) In the Gulf Coast, at Mobile, AL we have the much later site of Prince Madoc of Gwynedd's landing (apparently with knowledge obtained through the old Gaelic and Norse traditions.)

Retreat Reflections

2007-03-25T00:18:00.000-05:00

A few notes:

This Lent I had the blessing of attending an Orthodox Retreat in England. We also had the occasion for the 100 year anniversary celebration of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church approving the adaptation of the English Western rite services to Orthodox use. The liturgy was celebrated in a rural chapel (Fr. Hieromonk Michael of Saint Petroc, Cascades, TAS and Fr. Barry Jeffries of St. Stephen's, Launceston, TAS presiding) - Anglo-Saxon in origin, rebuilt by the Normans, and refurbished by the Victorian English. The Hours were kept at the Granary (a granary converted to lodging). The liturgy and hours were after the English Use chanted in Anglican plainchant with Sarum Psalm Tones led by the able ruler of the choir, Mr. Michael Astley of Manchester, UK. Liturgy was according to the English rite in the Saint Colman Prayer Book, of which I finally got my copy! We practiced silence between sessions, had communal Lenten meals together (many thanks to Mr. John Bruckin and Dr. Gilbert Meal), and sessions on Responding to God's Will - covering everything from our individual response, to that of nations and civilizations. Personally, it provided time to discover what lesson I needed to learn this Lent. Many thanks to Dr. John Ward of Hobart/Launceston, TAS for use of cassock, alb, amice and cincture. My poor Florida garb was a bit light (in weight and color) for the job, and my shoes were not quite up to the job either - but we still managed. I was thrilled to be allowed to participate in the worship as a chorister, and found myself drafted as Crucifer on Sunday as well (the first time as an Orthodox Christian doing so - and I don't remember them being so heavy! The cross was brass with a solid iron shaft - no doubt Victorian!) The retreat was organized by Mr. Eadmund Malcolm Dunstall of the Saint Eanswythe Orthodox Study Society of Folkestone, Kent, UK. (Some of my readers and friends might recognize the name as the founder of Tha Engliscan Gesithas back in 1966 who rightly protested the 900 year anniversary of the Norman invasion of England - I didn't realize who was who until the retreat was over! Forgive me for not knowing how to include Anglo-Saxon letters in this post.) We also made a trip to St. Mary and St. Eanswythe Church in Folkestone to venerate the relics of St. Eanswythe, who founded the first convent ever in England back in the 7th c. We arrived late, so we held our service out in the cold in front of the church - but still, we were there! (Saint Eanswythe, pray for us!)

I also had a recurrence of pneumonia - having had a few bouts in the past. I made the error of not dressing warm enough (again, Florida wardrobe), nor of getting preventive care from my physician. I took a sore throat with me, and the cold air, exertion and rain did me in. I've recovered quite well, and though the illness was a slight irritation, it was not successful in robbing us of profit during the retreat. I also finally got to see London by someone who knows the city - including Westminster Abbey, the Priory Church of St. Bartholomew the Great, and St. Paul's Cathedral (including the American Memorial Chapel, and the side altar with Hunt's "Light of the World" icon reredos - unfortunately, my medication kept me from realizing until I returned home that I had indeed seen the American Memorial Chapel! We were also given a tour of Charterhouse by one of the Brothers, Mr. Michael Farrar (who has written books on the history of quite a few English churches - some of which I hope to find copies of.) We also were able to visit with another Brother of Charterhouse, the retired Right Reverend Ambrose Weeks of the Church of England.

Pubs visited included The Valiant Sailor in Capel-Le-Ferne, Kent, the Butcher's Hook and Cleaver in London (Ukrainian chef specializing in English pies, of which I had a wonderful mushroom and onion pie with tarragon), Ye Olde Six Bells, Horley, Surrey, and The Albert Tavern in Westminster (I think that was one, I was quite ill at the time and only remember mushroom soup and large etched windows). The great discovery was a nice Kentish ale - Shepherd Neame Kent's Best that reminded me a bit of eating a Red Delicious Apple. It was nice to finally meet several people I've normally only either spoken to on the Internet, or talked with on the phone (including two Shipmates from the Ship of Fools, of which I've lurked quite awhile - and once participated in long ago.) I also saw why Kent is "The Garden of England" - and came within visual distance of France. There were also a few Celtic/Roman sites I saw in Kent that I really wanted to go see - unfortunately, I lacked time or good health for the walks.

O Tannenbaum

2005-12-02T14:41:00.001-06:00

Externsteine Relief - a Benedictine carving at once was the center of German pagan religion in the Teutoburger Wald. It portrays the cutting down of the 'Irminsul' and the rising in its place of the 'Evergreen' Cross of the Conquering Christ.
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

Christmas trees. The origin of our custom in the South, from Virginia : "At about the same time [as Prince Albert's introduction of the Tannenbaum to Windsor Castle], Charles Minnegerode, a German professor at the College of William and Mary, trimmed a small evergreen to delight the children at the St. George Tucker House. Martha Vandergrift, aged 95, recalled the grand occasion, and her story appeared in the Richmond News Leader on December 25, 1928. Presumably Mrs. Vandergrift remembered the tree and who decorated it more clearly than she did the date. The newspaper gave 1845 as the time, three years after Minnegerode's arrival in Williamsburg. Perhaps the first Christmas tree cheered the Tucker household as early as 1842."

This also produced the custom of the 'community Christmas tree' which is an 'outside' tree. The custom spread across the South from Williamsburg in the years before the War. Before the German Christmas tree (which might have been used in the Carolinas amongst the Germans since the early 1700's) there was already the custom of Christmas greenery in Southern households: though primarily Mistletoe and Holly.

Also, the origins with St. Boniface "When St. Boniface chopped down the pagan Thor's oak at Geismar, he claimed that the tiny fir tree growing in its roots as the new Christian symbol. He told the heathen tribes: "This humble tree's wood is used to build your homes - let Christ be at the center of your households. Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days - let Christ be your constant light. Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven - let Christ be your comfort and your guide." So the fir tree became a sign of Christ among the German peoples, and eventually it became a world-wide symbol of Christmas."

One thing I plead of readers: the Christmas Tree is not an *Advent* custom. Traditionally (and still in Germanic Europe) one should put the tree up on Christmas Eve - as a surprise for the children on Christmas morning before leaving for the 'Christ Mass'. The tree is taken down at Epiphany/Theophany (after the 12 days of Christmas.) Also: St. Nicholas is a good traditional date for the giving of gifts: but it needn't be excessive, or a replacement for providing for family what one should normally provide.

XII. The Blessing

2005-11-30T15:22:00.001-06:00

XII. The Blessing
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

From 'Illustrations of the Liturgy' Alcuin Club Collections XIX by Clement O. Skilbeck with notes and Introduction by Percy Dearmer, D.D. A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. London/Oxford, 1912.

XI. Gloria In Excelsis

2005-11-30T15:21:00.001-06:00

XI. Gloria In Excelsis
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

From 'Illustrations of the Liturgy' Alcuin Club Collections XIX by Clement O. Skilbeck with notes and Introduction by Percy Dearmer, D.D. A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. London/Oxford, 1912.

X. Prayer of Consecration

2005-11-30T15:18:00.001-06:00

X. Prayer of Consecration
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

From 'Illustrations of the Liturgy' Alcuin Club Collections XIX by Clement O. Skilbeck with notes and Introduction by Percy Dearmer, D.D. A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. London/Oxford, 1912.

IX. The General Confession

2005-11-30T15:14:00.001-06:00

IX. The General Confession
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

From 'Illustrations of the Liturgy' Alcuin Club Collections XIX by Clement O. Skilbeck with notes and Introduction by Percy Dearmer, D.D. A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. London/Oxford, 1912.

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VIII. The Offertory

2005-11-30T15:12:00.001-06:00

VIII. The Offertory
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

From 'Illustrations of the Liturgy' Alcuin Club Collections XIX by Clement O. Skilbeck with notes and Introduction by Percy Dearmer, D.D. A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. London/Oxford, 1912.

VII. The End of the Creed

2005-11-30T15:11:00.001-06:00

VII. The End of the Creed
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

From 'Illustrations of the Liturgy' Alcuin Club Collections XIX by Clement O. Skilbeck with notes and Introduction by Percy Dearmer, D.D. A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. London/Oxford, 1912.

VI. The Gospel

2005-11-30T15:09:00.001-06:00

VI. The Gospel
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

From 'Illustrations of the Liturgy' Alcuin Club Collections XIX by Clement O. Skilbeck with notes and Introduction by Percy Dearmer, D.D. A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. London/Oxford, 1912.

V. The Epistle

2005-11-30T15:08:00.001-06:00

V. The Epistle
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

From 'Illustrations of the Liturgy' Alcuin Club Collections XIX by Clement O. Skilbeck with notes and Introduction by Percy Dearmer, D.D. A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. London/Oxford, 1912.

IV. The Collects

2005-11-30T15:06:00.001-06:00

IV. The Collects
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

From 'Illustrations of the Liturgy' Alcuin Club Collections XIX by Clement O. Skilbeck with notes and Introduction by Percy Dearmer, D.D. A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. London/Oxford, 1912.

III. The Decalogue

2005-11-30T15:05:00.002-06:00

III. The Decalogue
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

II. Preparation of the Elements in a Chapel

2005-11-30T15:03:00.001-06:00

II. Preparation of the Elements in a Chapel
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

From 'Illustrations of the Liturgy' Alcuin Club Collections XIX by Clement O. Skilbeck with notes and Introduction by Percy Dearmer, D.D. A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. London/Oxford, 1912.

I. The End of the Procession

2005-11-30T15:00:00.003-06:00

I. The End of the Procession
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

From 'Illustrations of the Liturgy' Alcuin Club Collections XIX by Clement O. Skilbeck with notes and Introduction by Percy Dearmer, D.D. A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. London/Oxford, 1912.

Our Lady of Glastonbury

2005-11-18T08:59:00.000-06:00

Our Lady of Glastonbury
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

the second in a three part series
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"Glastonbury was the most ancient and venerable sanctuary of Our Lady in England. In 530 St. David of Menevia, accompanied by seven of his suffragan bishops, came to Glastonbury, invited thither by the sanctity of the place, and consecrated a Chapel of Our Lady on the east side of the church. As a mark of his devotion to the Queen of Heaven, he adorned the golden superaltar with a sapphire of inestimable value, known as the Great Sapphire of Glastonbury. The Silver Chapel of Our Lady was stored with costly gifts, the value of which, at our present standard, mounted to a prodigious sum. Among the Saxon kings who came hither on pilgrimage may be mentioned Athelstan and Edgar the Peaceable, the latter laying his sceptre on the Blessed Virgin's altar and solemnly placing his kingdom under her patronage." - The Catholic Encyclopedia.

Note: The uncle of St. David of Wales was one Melchinus, called Maelgwyn who wrote of St. Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury, and much more. As the Cornish Archaeologist Charles Thomas pointed out, there has been a direct unbroken continuity of Christian tradition in the 'cradle' of West England, South Wales, and Devonia since the first centuries of Roman-Britain til the present day.

In Apologia St. Joseph Arimathea

2005-11-18T08:54:00.000-06:00

Above link to an article on an ACA parish homepage included for interest.
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St. Joseph Arimathea
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

In the Litany of Dunkeld we have the 'Naming of the Holy Martyrs - beginning with the first martyr of the Church Universal, and then the martyrs of the Brittanic Isle, St. Joseph of Arimathea and St. Aristibule. The list continues with Ss. Alban and Amphibalous, then the local martyrs of Alba (Scotland) beginning with St. Kilian and his kindred (and Ss. Colman, Duncan, Colonach, King Constantine, etc.)

What is interesting about this is the date of the Litany - in its present form, no later than AD 889. The Litany prays for the King Gregory of Scotland as he still rules (being Giric, known as 'King Gregory the Great', murdered in AD 889.) What makes this interesting is that the beginning point for those who denounce the claims of St. Joseph of Arimathea (and St. Aristobulus) mission to Brittania stand upon the late 19th c. claim that William of Malmesbury 'invented' the story around 1125... 235 years after the Litany of Dunkeld took its final form.

The early Church in Britain centered around the Silurian capital at Caerleon (near present day Cardiff) which was at the time a new Roman fort. The site of Glastonbury was important as being where the Gospel is supposed have first been preached in the 'Extreme Occident' and the foundation of what would become the basis of Celtic/Saxon monasticism. (Note - St. Joseph of Arimathea by tradition was only presbyter, not episcopus.)

The list of those who attest to the Apostolic origin of the Church in Britain includes Eusebius of Caesarea 3rd - 4th c., St. Hilary of Poitiers 4th c., St. Gildas the Wise 5th - 6th c. , St. Augustine of Canterbury 7th c., St. Nicephorus of Constantinople 8th - 9th c., Blessed Maurus Rabanus of Mainz 8th - 9th c. (and other documents of lesser mention.)

Those who attest to St. Joseph of Arimathea as the first father in Britain, include the later western 'Father of Ecclesiastical History' the Venerable Cardinal Cesare Baronius of Naples 16th - 17th c., and the Jesuit Melchior Inchofer 16th - 17th c., and the earlier St. Gregory of Tours 6th c, St. Isidore of Seville 7th c., as well as various Welsh and English medieval documents*, or the claims of John of Glastonbury 14th c. and John Capgrave 14th c. as to seeing the same claims from the Holy Emperor Theodosius 4th c.

* As with the Fathers, many documents are quoted by various authors, but no longer are extant - though a copy might exist somewhere. According to various authorities, there are still thousands of untranslated documents in various medieval and ancient languages in the monasteries, libraries, and private collections of Europe.

Plan for a Modern Chancel and Chapel

2005-08-16T03:13:00.004-05:00

Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

An appropriate design, one can see the plan of the chancel and choir within the rood screen easily.

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Index to Plan

(The first bay only of the Nave is shown. A Transept room is suggested at the south transept, as a subsidiary church room, suitable for general purposes, for a tea-room, for classes or other meetings, and suitable also for Sunday Kindergarten -- when the Nave would be occupied by the Great, and the Choir Vestry by the Little Catechism, or their equivalants. The Choir Vestry, with its Platform and Aisle, would be used for the Easter Vestry and other large meetings.)

Numbers represent steps.
1,2,3. (Under Rood Screen) Chancel steps.
4. (In Sanctuary) Communion step.
x. x. Standard candlesticks.
T,T. Usual position of Taperers (o o, their candlesticks.)

The below figures show the usual position of the ministers.
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5. Subdeacon's step.
6. Deacon's step.
CL. Position of Clerk.
7. Foot-pace.
L. Lectern.
P. Pulpit.
CC. Cupboard for children's material.
a,b,c. Servers' cupboards for Albes, &c.
d. Sacristan's store cupboard.
f. Churchwardens' cupboard for books.
V. Verger's cupboard.
e. Parson's cupboard for Cassocks, &c.
g. CUpboard for Surplices and Albes.

In Priest's Vestry, a press, with drawers, under the window.
3. In Chapel, foot-pace.
N. In Chapel, normal position of Server.
2. In Chapel, communion step.
h. In Chapel, Credence.
S. In Chapel, Sedile for minister.

From "The Parson's Handbook" 12th edition, Percy Dearmer, Oxford University Press, London, 1932.

An English Chancel - Inside the Rood Screen

2005-08-16T02:45:00.002-05:00

Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

The inside of the Altar, behind the Rood Screen, in an English parish church. The decorated roof is the canopy over the altar - note the East window as well. On the northern wall is the aumbry (tabernacle). The long English altar, three steps up, riddel and dossal curtains with iconographic work (probably emroidered) four candles on the riddel posts, two candles on the altar according to the Medieval Roman use. The Sedalia (seats for the ministers) is on the south wall. The two candlesticks upon the pavement are called 'Standards'.

A very appropriate and simply space designed for the worship of the True God.

Choir Habit of a Degreed English Priest

2005-08-16T02:32:00.002-05:00

Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

Another example - the Choir Habit of the English old Catholic / Anglo-Catholic / Orthodox Anglican tradition. The Hood and Tippet are actually part of one garment - the appropriate hood is worn according to the degree held (BTh, MDiv, MTh, DD, DMin, etc.) One can see the ecclesiastical origin of the Western Academic dress here clearly as the original universities, Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh were all Seminaries.

The Sarum Cassock is not clear in this case. However, one can see the wide sleeves of the Surplice which is variously called Old English, Medieval, or Warham Guild style. It is thought by some to be a type of alb, possibly from the old Gallican Alb of the early Western church (an unbelted voluminous white linen garment) - a more abbreviated form is variously called Anglican or Benedictine, and the extremely abbreviated form with lace is the Roman style (with a square yoke, and extreme abbreviation, one has the Cotta .. a similar garment.)

This is what a priest would wear praying the Divine Office or Hours (Morningsong, Evensong - Matins, Lauds, Prime, Vespers, Compline, etc.)

English Clergy Habit

2005-08-16T02:24:00.002-05:00

Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

An example of the priest's street clothes in the tradition of the Anglo-Catholic or English old Catholic (Orthodox Anglican) tradition. The Sarum cassock is similar to the Byzantine, the Anglo-Saxon gown rather like the Ryassa, the Canterbury cap the older form of clerical headgear somewhat like a skophia or kamilavki. The tippet is a scarf, a portion of the 'hood' and not a stole of any sort. The cincture in this case is of a sash-type, leather belts are also worn.

The First Known Christian Martyr in the Americas

2005-06-26T22:24:00.001-05:00

From the book "West Vikings" by Farley Mowat:

"In 1059 there may have been a deliberate attempt to revisit Vinland - perhaps sparked by Gudleif's experiences. There is a record of a Celtic or Saxon priest named Jon, who had at one time worked in Iceland, having gone to Vinland or Vendland on a missionary voyage. He was subsequently reported to have been murdered by the natives there.

...

Assuming that Jon was sent to Vinland, his death should have reinforced the belief that no settlement could be established in the New World in the face of the opposition of the natives. Yet, oddly enough, the next chronological reference to the new lands is also to a missionary expedition. This one seems to have taken place in 1121 when Erik, Bishop of Greenland, is reported to have sailed for Vinland. Nothing further is known about him except that he was succeeded by a new bishop in 1124, from which we draw the conclusion that his luck was no better than Jon's.

The Vinland here referred to here was not Leif's Vinland, which was apparently never rediscovered, but was the later Vinland of the Stefansson map -- the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. It is an ironic thought that if Leif's original Vinland had been rediscovered by Karlsefni or later voyagers (with or without Leif's aid) the Norse might very well have succeeded in establishing a settlement in the New World."

Of course, Greenland is 'North America' as Great Britain is 'Europe', Japan 'Asia', or Madagascar 'Africa'. Leif's settlement in Greenland was a missionary activity of St. Olaf of Norway began in 1000 AD.

The Epiclesis in the West

2005-04-25T19:51:00.000-05:00

Quotes from Western Fathers on the epiclesis in the West:

"Justin Martyr (Rome, m. between 163 and 167)
Apol. l. Ixvi:
For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Saviour was made flesh by a word of God (διὰ λόγου Θεοῦ - dia logou Theou) and had flesh and blood for our salvation, so we have been taught that the food which is made Eucharist through a word of prayer that comes from Him (τὴν δι’ εὐχῆς λόγου τοῦ παρ’ αὐτοῦ εὐχαριστηθεῖσαν τροφήν - ten di euches logou tou par autou eucharistetheisan trophen), from which by change [κατὰ μεταβολὴν - kata metabolen, i.e. by metabolism.] our blood and flesh are nourished, are the flesh and blood of the same incarnate Jesus Christ.

Irenaeus (Lyons, d. 202-3)
Haer. i. xiii. 2:
Pretending to make Eucharist of cups mixed with wine, and extending to a great length the word of invocation, he (i.e. the heretic Marcus) makes them appear purple and red, so that it seems as if Charis [One of the emanations in the Valentinian Gnostic system.], one of those beings who are above all things, distilled its blood into that cup at his invocation.
Ibid. iv. xviii. 5:
For as bread from the earth, on receiving the invocation of God, is no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist, &c.
Ibid. v. ii. 2:
When therefore the mixed cup and the bread that is made receives the word of God, and becomes the Eucharist of Christ's blood and body, &c.
Ibid. v. ii. 3:
(These fruits of the earth) by God's wisdom become fit for man's food, and now, receiving the word of God, become a Eucharist, which is Christ's body and blood.

Hippolytus (Rome, d. 235) quotes in Philosophumena, vi. 39 the first passage of Irenaeus.

Ambrose (Milan, d. 397)
De Sp. Sanct. in. xvi. 112:
He who with the Father and the Son is by the priests named in baptism, and invoked in the oblations.

Optatus (Africa, d. 400)
De schism. Donat. vi. i: ...
the altars of God, on which you (the Donatists when Catholics) at one time offered, on which the vows of the people and the members of Christ were borne, where God Almighty was invoked, where the Holy Ghost descended in answer to prayer; whence the pledge of everlasting salvation and the safeguard of faith and the hope of the resurrection was received by many, &c.

Augustine (Africa, d. 430)
De Trin. in. iv. 10:
That which is taken from the fruit of the earth and consecrated by the mystical prayer we duly receive for our spiritual health in remembrance of the passion of our Lord on our behalf. When this is by the hands of men made to assume that visible form, it is not consecrated so as to become so great a sacrament except by the invisible operation of the Spirit of God.

Isidore (Spain, c. 636)
De eccles. officiis, i. 15 (describing the seven prayers of the liturgy):
Then comes the sixth, the 'Conformation' of the sacrament, that the oblation which is offered to God, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, may be conformed to the body and blood of Christ.
Ibid. i. 18:
But these (bread and wine), while they are visible, having nevertheless been sanctified by the Holy Ghost, pass into the sacrament of the divine body.
The following, generally attributed to St. Isidore, is probably much later.
Etym. vi, 19:
We call it the body and blood of Christ be cause, though it is of the fruit of the earth, it is sanctified and made a sacrament, by the invisible operation of the Holy Ghost.

Gelasius (Rome, d. 496)
Ep. ad Elpidium:
For how shall the heavenly Spirit, on being invoked, come to the consecration of the divine mystery, if the priest, even he who prays Him to be present, is found to be full of guilty actions?

Fulgentius (Africa, d. 533)
Ex Frag. xxviii ex Lib. viii contra Fdbianum:
When at the time of the sacrifice we make commemoration of his death, we ask that love be given to us through the coming of the Holy Spirit, &c.
Ad Monimum, ii. 6:
Why then, if the sacrifice is offered to the whole Trinity is the sending down of the Holy Spirit alone asked for to sanctify our oblation, as if, so to speak. God the Father, from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds, cannot sanctify a sacrifice offered to him, &c. ... And so when the Church asks that the Holy Spirit should be sent upon itself from heaven, it is asking that the gifts of love and unanimity should be given to it by God; but when can the holy Church, which is the body of Christ, more fittingly ask for the coming of the Holy Spirit than for the consecration of the sacrifice of the body of Christ?"

From Appendix C, Handbook to the Christian Liturgy, James Norman MA, 1944 (SPCK)

The Survival of the English Use

2005-04-23T10:31:00.003-05:00

Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

A nice picture, from "A Server's Manual for the Holy Communion"

Details to notice: the East Window, the altar with dossal and riddel curtains. Two candles on the altar, an altar cross, a frontal on the altar - cushions for the Missal, the Corporals covered Chalice and Paten. The priest in appareled alb, appareled amice, full Gothic chasuble, thin stole, maniple. The server in Cassock and the slit opening variation of the English surplice (I've most often seen this worn by Choirs and Organ masters.) See also the Aumbrey (English version of the Tabernacle - the cruet there probably contains Holy Oil) the Credence table with the vials and instruments for Lavabo, and the Sedalia (those are the 'seats' that look like windows with cushions on the sill.) How Church was done openly for probably over 1000 years, til the Reformation (when it was done secretly for 200 more years), and as recovered in the 19th c. first by Emancipated English Catholics, then by Anglo-Catholics (and finally in the 20th c. by Western Rite Orthodox.)

For guideposts towards that history, I would suggest Stanley Morrison's "English Prayer Books" for a start. The Tichborn estate (a Recusant family) had a Sarum Manuale all the way through and was the basis of the 19th c. Sarum translations by the Wordsworths. Sarum books were still being printed in England up til 1557, the Sarum at the English exiles in France up til 1576 (Rome til 1569). The last Sarum book printed was in 1611 (Kellam-Douai 12mo.)

The Jesuits, beginning in 1623, carried special books printed just for their mission that were "pro Sacerdotibus in Anglia, Scotia, et Ibernia", which were full of Sarum customs (and, the full Sarum marriage service, for instance.)

Morrison sees the Tridentine only supplanting the Sarum in the colleges abroad - and that besides the Jesuit books, the Platin books of Antwerp were in use - as well as Sarum books (such as at Tichborn.)

It should be noted that the 1686 Ordo published in England by James II's printers was Sarum based (after the Jesuit usage "pro Anglia, Hibernia, et Scotia." And, though Morrison doesn't have that information, I have elsewhere reference to the use surviving in two parishes in Cornwall.

As for the revival of Sarum in full, it was accomplished with the Roman Catholics in England with Ambrose Phillips de Lisle at Grace Dieu (and, Pugin's wife was baptised according to Sarum Use by Dr. Daniel Rock at Lord Shrewsbury's private chapel in 1839 - the same year De Lisle asked for the Roman bishops to reinstate full Sarum.)

From all the histories I've checked over the past few months on the Recusants, there is agreement that the Irish invading England were definitely using different customs and traditions than the English old Catholics were used to (ie, Sarum/'pro Anglia, Hibernia, et Scotia') and it remained a major sticking point. As the Irish pushed the English use out of the RCC in England, the Anglo-Catholics picked it up (primarily through Williams, Seager and Bloxam - who first learned ritual and ceremony from De Lisle's Grace Dieu chapel.) The first Latin Breviary printed in England after the Emancipation was an 1830 Sarum Breviary by Husenbeth.

For that matter, though *some* Tridentine books were used in England during that period, it was more likely to be the Parisian books (which had their own local elements - this is during the 'Neo-Gallican' period), or the Antwerp books (again, with local elements after Utrecht).

The Jesuits aforementioned were using a local use based upon Sarum (not Tridentine), as acculturation was their method in those few centuries. The Irish themselves had lost their own usage (which was like the Sarum) though the Jesuits and Dominicans were using liturgy like the old Irish liturgy. It was the Franciscans who brought about the change in Irish Catholic life and worship, which was later to be imposed upon Britain and America through migration.

It should also be pointed out (from Denis Gwyn, J.C.H. Aveling, J. Bossy, and E. Norman) that the English old Catholics were being served not only by the Jesuits, but by larger numbers of secular clergy who were private chaplains, chosen by and trained for the Recusant families: the idea of some newly indoctrinated Tridentine-purist Continental Seminarians overturning a tradition in England overnight (or even in a generation) and importing loads of new books is simple hogwash... it fits with neither of the facts that the clergy for the most part were *untrained* (the private chaplains) or Jesuit trained (and thus, using not Tridentine books, but special books for Britain and Ireland based upon Sarum). That: and the stress over ceremonial and tradition after the Irish migration was due to the new Irish (Franciscan) clergy imposing a new practice (Tridentine ceremonial and books) unlike the Jesuit/Secular practices current with English Catholics.

Did the Normans change the English rites?

2005-02-18T15:04:00.001-06:00

One of the charges made by certain un-canonical groups, and a few uneducated or belligerent parties in the Church, has been that the Divine Liturgy of the West was dramatically changed by the Normans after the invasion of Britain. I found this description from one of the major scholars of that representative Western rite of the Middle Ages (upon which the English services originate), Daniel Rock D.D., from his work "The Church of Our Fathers: As seen in St. Osmund's Rite for the Cathedral of Salisbury with dissertations on the belief and ritual in England before and after the coming of the Normans." 1849. A Catholic work - it has strong consonances with Orthodoxy. Dr. Daniel Rock was one of the English old Catholics (those who preserved the old English customs and tradition after the Reformation, contrary both to the Establishment - which was often Calvinist and Puritan, and contrary to the Jesuit missionary activity which sought to 'remake' Catholicism in that country into a new thing.)

"Protestant writers upon the history and antiquities of the Church in this country, have often allowed themselves to be easily misled into no small error concerning changes imagined to have been wrought by St. Osmund in our national ecclesiastical services.

Not for a moment must it be thought that this holy man either took away one smallest jot from the text of the liturgy for offering up the sacrifice of the mass, or altered a word of the ritual of administering any of the seven sacraments. Both the Sacrifice and the Sacraments were hallowed things, which the Normans looked upon with the like deep reverence and holy feeling as the Anglo-Saxons: for each nation's belief upon these articles of Christian faith was identical, flowing as it did out of the self-same well-spring of truth -- the apostolic see, the chair of St. Peter."

....

Now it should be asked: " In What did the Sarum ritual vary from that of Rome, and of the Anglo-Saxons?", the question is readily answered by replying, that the difference was neither much nor important. On comparing the Breviary, the Missal, and the Manual of Salisbury, with such of the service-books as have come down to us from Anglo-Saxon times, and those books now in use at Rome [1849], we shall find that they agree with one another almost word for word; so much so, indeed, as to show that St. Osmund did nothing more than to take the Roman liturgy as he found it at the time, ingraft upon it some slight unimportant insertions, and draw out its rubrics in such a way as to hinder the ordinary chances of falling into any mistakes about them from happening. He seems to have invented nothing of himself in these matters, but to have chosen out of the practices he saw in use around him, among the Anglo-Saxons here, and more especially among his own countrymen in Normandy; and it would appear he undertook nothing more than to arrange the church-offices in such sort that his clergy -- composed as they must have been of Normans and Anglo-Saxons -- might have one known uniform rule to lead them while going through their respective functions within the sanctuary, and their several duties amid their flocks."

....

Such, reader, are the chief though not all the beauties of our dear old Sarum rite, which, after all, was so very Anglo-Saxon in its leading features. To love those olden ways in which our fathers for ages trod, is what has been told us and taught us by some of the highest holiest men who have lived at different times and various places in God's one catholic everlasting Church. How St. Charles Borromeo strove and wrought successfully to keep up the liturgy and ritual as they were left by hid predecessor, the great St. Ambrose; how Cardinal Ximenes preserved, at Toledo, the Mozarabic service - are fact well known. ... The Holy See, nay the Church herself, has always acknowledged the lawfulness of keeping up local rites and praiseworthy customs in different countries. The council of Trent, Sess. XXIV., in its Decretum de Reformatione Matrimonii cap. i., says: - Si quae provinciae aliis, ultra praedictas, laudabilibus consuetudinibus et caeremoniis hac in re utuntur, eas omnino retineri sancta Synodus vehementer optat. For the holy See, and the Roman Congregation of Rites, Gavanti, than whom a more trustworthy witness could not be found, assures us that: - Proprios mores unaquaeque habet ecclesia et laudibiles consuetudines, quas non tolli a caeremoniali Romano, neque a rubricis Breviarii, saepius declaravit Sacra rittum Congregatio.

....

Between the Anglo-Saxon and the Sarum rite there was but small difference: this latter bore about it a strong sister likeness to the first, so that, while looking upon the one, we, after a way, behold both. In its features and its whole stature, we gaze, as it were, upon our fathers in their religious life; we read their ghostly annals, through a thousand years and more, as a Catholic people. It tells us what men and women, old and young, high and low, then did and must have done to have got for this land of England that sweet name, among the nations, of "The island of Saints." When we take a remembrance of this liturgy with us into the tall cathedral and the lowly parish church, those dear old walls that catholic hands built are again quickened into ritual life; we see the lighted tapers round the shrine, or circling about the Blessed Sacrament hung above the altar; we catch the chant, we witness the procession as it halts to kneel and pray beneath the rood-loft; to the inward eye, the bishop with his seven deacons and as many subdeacons, is standing at the altar sacrificing, and as he uplifts our divine Lord in the Eucharist, for the worship of the kneeling throng, we hear the bell toll forth slowly, majestically. From the southern porch-door, to the brackets on the eastern chancel wall for the B.V. Mary's and the patron saint's images, every thing has its own meaning and speaks its especial purpose, as intended by the use of Sarum. Can these rites never again be witnessed in England? They may. Let us hope then - let us pray for their restoration, so that England may once more gaze upon her olden liturgy; let us hope and pray that her children, in looking upon, may all acknowledge their true mother, and love and heed the teaching the while they study the ritual of the Church of our Fathers."

Postscript by W.H. Frere : "If the learned author were alive now and wished to find examples of the old English ways which were so dear to him he would have to go to the Churches of the establishment rather than to those of the Roman Catholic body." 1905.

Post-postscript: AFAIK, the English Sarum Use has only been done intermittently as experiments in our own time by Church of England clergy - and maybe once in Scotland by Roman clergy... and the Sarum pretty much is found only in use with the Western Rite Orthodox under ROCOR (and parts of it, or the heritage thereof amongst the Continuum and the Antiochian Western Rite - and still possibly with a few Anglo-Catholics or High Churchmen of the Church of England, and possibly within other churches in its Communion ?)

A bit more of the Very Rev. Dr. Daniel Rock's writing:

"The Anglo-Saxons were taught never to go beyond the threshold of a church without stirring up within themselves feelings of the deepest awe: for they were then treading hallowed ground: they were within the house of prayer - hard by the spot whereon the body of Christ was about to be consecrated - whereon the mysteries of his body and blood were being wrought; they were made aware that cherubim and seraphim hovered unseen about the altar, in noiseless, but most lowly worship; therefore was it becoming for man to awaken within his heart a reverential dread, and be there before the holy of holies, with eyes cast down to the ground, like the pious woman at the sepulchre, when, on going to seek the body of Jesus, they found it watched by an angel. Hence, too, they were told never to sit down during mass, unless weakness or bad health obliged them; and to hear it fasting.

Such feelings of awe for the spot on which was offered up the holy sacrifice, did not belong exclusively to our Anglo-Saxon forefathers, but may be seen, much before their time, acting upon other portions of the Church, both in the east and west, and have been fondly cherished ever since; nowhere, however, with more warmth than in our own England, while it was Catholic."

Pax-Brede

2005-02-18T14:20:00.001-06:00

Here is a Western 'icon' that was used liturgically from at least the 13th c. (AD 1200's) for the Kiss of Peace.

From Daniel Rock's "The Church of Our Fathers", 1849:

"Instead of the clerk's cheek, the priest kissed the figure of our Blessed Lord, painted on a small piece of wood, or graven on a plate of copper, set in a frame, with a handle behind, as is shown in this cut. So shaped, it could easily be carried about among the people by the clerk, in his left hand; and, after each kiss bestowed upon it, wiped with a little napkin which he held for that purpose in his right hand. The earliest mention anywhere of such a ritual appliance, is to be found among this country's ecclesiastical enactments, in which it is called "osculatorium," "asser pacis," "tabula pacis."28 Its more common name was "pax-brede," which at once told its liturgical purpose, and of what material it happened, at first, to be generally made. Afterwards, gold, silver, ivory, jewels, enamel, and the most beautiful workmanship, were bestowed upon it; though, for poor churches, it still continued to be made of wood, or at most, of copper gilt.

--------------
28 Among other sacred things to be found by the parishioners for their church, according to the statutes of Archbishop Walter Gray, for his province of York (A.D. 1250), was "osculatorium." (Wilkins, Concil., i. 698.) In like manner the synod of Exeter (A. D. 1287) decreed there should be "asser ad pacem" (ibid., ii. 139), and the council of Merton (A.D. 1305), "tabulas pacis ad osculatorium" (ibid., 280). "

The pax-brede, along with the Eulogiae (holy bread) was withheld from hardened sinners first among items barred from those excommunicated. The Gospel was also used as such at High Masses in Cathedrals (like the Gospel at Byzantine Orthros.)

Also from Daniel Rock D.D. Canon of the English Chapter (Roman Catholic):

"In going to meet, for the first time, that pagan king, St. Austin and his holy fellow-labourers went forward carrying for a banner a silver cross and the image of our Lord and Saviour painted on a board.... The use of images and pictures in churches, is well defended by this great Anglo-Saxon father [Venerable Bede] in another part of his writings; and he shows that as under the Old, so in the New law, the employment of images is quite allowable: [referring to the Venerable Bede's commentary on Exodus]... Upon the principle that the Church is the teaching-house of holiness, therefore the walls themselves about the earthly building should speak of heaven... upon this principle was it that the Anglo-Saxons strove their best to get the images of Christ, of his ever-virgin mother, of the apostles and of the saints, and to look for artists who might paint subjects from holy writ, to adorn the walls of their churches.... On going, then, into an Anglo-Saxon minster, here and there might be seen, done in bronze, or some one or other of the more valuable metals, representations of the life and miracles of our divine Redeemer. But in those places where it could be procured, the whole inside of the church was covered with paintings of the saints, and illustrations of passages of holy writ. "

See: PaintedChurch.org for surviving examples.

The Healer of Rue d'Alleray

2005-02-05T10:21:00.001-06:00

Dom Denis of d'Alleray was known for the miraculous healings that occured from his simple prayers. His monastery was of the Benedictine Rule and Roman Rite, and under the Russian Orthodox Church.
Originally uploaded by Aristibule.

The blog OCCIDENTALIS posted this article, and especially this picture of Dom Denis of d'Alleray of Blessed Memory (which I had been searching for the past 5 years.) He is the first that comes to mind when I think of local Western Rite Orthodox who are candidates for glorification by the Church.

Chivalry and the 21st century.

2005-02-03T11:14:00.000-06:00

Charlemagne's Code of Chivalry (Late 700's) :

To fear God and maintain His Church
To serve the liege lord in valour and faith
To protect the weak and defenceless
To give succour to widows and orphans
To refrain from the wanton giving of offence
To live by honour and for glory
To despise pecuniary reward
To fight for the welfare of all
To obey those placed in authority
To guard the honour of fellow knights
To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit
To keep faith
At all times to speak the truth
To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun
To respect the honour of women
Never to refuse a challenge from an equal
Never to turn the back upon a foe.

There are other lists made at various times in history - this one seems the most ancient, however, and completely applicable (even on the issue of 'liege lord' - for those of us living in democratic societies, a liege lord is the 'hand that feeds', IOW - Don't Bite The Hand That Feeds You. For an American Soldier, that 'liege lord' is both the Constitution and the American Public. For the Citizen, it is our employer, our parish priest and bishop, and our community (the common good.)

The English Use

2005-02-01T13:59:00.001-06:00

"While you stick to the old Church of England ways you are respectable—it is going by a sort of tradition ; when you profess to return to lost Church of England ways you are rational ;—but when you invent a new ceremonial which never was, when you copy the Roman or other foreign rituals, you are neither respectable nor rational. It is sectarian."—J. H. Newman to Henry Wilberforce. Life of J. H. Cardinal Newman, by W. Ward. 1912. I. 235.

An interesting essay which was No. XI of the Alcuin Club Tracts. Defends the English Use against the Anglo-Roman party of the times. Note how the objections some made at the time sound like the 'usual suspects' criticism of the Orthodox English Divine Liturgy.

"English or Roman Use?" by E. G. P. Wyatt, MA [A. R. Mowbray and Co. Ltd. London; Milwaukee, U.S.A.: The Young Churchman Co., 1913] transcribed by Mr Allan R Wylie AD 2000

"Objection 1.—The reproach is made against the upholders of the English Use that they have "divided the Catholic camp" by breaking in upon a tradition which had been held by all within that "camp" for half a century. But this does not agree with the facts. There can be no doubt that those who first accepted Roman usages in the early days of the Church Revival did so in the belief that these were identical with those that prevailed in the English Church before the Reformation, and when the progress of liturgical and ecclesiological learning showed that this belief was mistaken, some, at least, sought a remedy by resorting wholesale to Sarum usages, or what were thought to be such, thirty years ago, or more.

Objection 2. —Then we are told that a "living" use ought to be preferred to a "dead" one. This idea seems to spring from a misunderstanding of what is implied by the English Use. It does not consist in reviving a rite which has passed out of use and become obsolete. On the contrary, it is the living rite of the Prayer Book, and if reference is made on any particular point to a custom which has been disused, it may be, for a very long time, there is no meaning in calling it a "dead" custom. At one time Ascension Day seems to have completely passed out of observance in England: would it have been any answer to those who wished to revive its observance to say that it was "dead" and therefore could not be revived?

Objection 3. —The English Use is "antiquarian" and has its origin in the "British Museum." If these phrases have any meaning they are really complimentary, and not the reverse, for they imply that the English Use is based on sound learning. Those who repeat this little jest seem to be unaware that the British Museum is not a collection of Mediaeval Church antiquities, but is the home of scholars because it contains the largest library in the world. Like everything else in religion, the English Use has its roots in the past, and is based on precedent. Can the secret of the objectors’ reverence for the Papal Congregation of Sacred Rites be that its decisions are thought to be "up-to-date," and based on "common sense" only, and to have nothing to do with either learning or precedent?

Objection 4. —The English Use is "artificial." This apparently means that it starts from the directions in the Prayer Book as a basis, and merely supplements them by the authoritative customs to which the Prayer Book explicitly or implicitly refers us, instead of adopting a whole system bodily from another rite, and omitting only so much of it as is necessitated by the fact of the rite being different from our own.

Objection 5. —The English Use is "uncertain." This sometimes takes the form of asking which of the old English rites abolished by the Prayer Book, Sarum, York, etc., we are to adopt. But the English Use does not imply the wholesale adoption of any rite but that of the Prayer Book. Sometimes, however, the objection is made that there is no certain knowledge about the former customs to which we are referred, contrasting this method with the easy resort to a ready-made system, which every one can find for himself in the Roman books. But, as a matter of fact, owing to the researches of the "antiquarians" in the available records, there is no difficulty at all in getting any information that is necessary with regard to the old customs in question, and wonderfully little difference of opinion about them. And among the English churches that are supposed to follow the Roman Use, is there one that follows it exactly, or any two that are alike?

Objection 6. —It is objected that the English Use sets up "national" against "Catholic" customs. But this has no meaning in the mouth of anybody, but an Ultramontane. It is true that for some centuries the Papacy has, in Western Europe, been endeavouring to abolish national rites and in other ways to introduce a rigid uniformity in rites and ceremonies. But it has never completely succeeded, and even in Roman Catholic countries a good many of the old national customs exist, and of course the Uniat Churches of the East have their own rites. The Eastern Churches have always been national. But formerly in the West there were diocesan rites and ceremonies as well, and there still are at Milan.

Objection 7.—The English Use is "insular"; and it is further objected that the old English customs were themselves foreign in origin. For this objection to have any relevance, it would have to be shown that it was in old times open to any parish priest in England to introduce into a parish church on his own authority any ceremonial that struck his fancy, if he happened to travel abroad. But the whole objection is based on a misunderstanding. The English use is not advocated because it is "English" and not "foreign," but because it is authoritative."

Even more so because of the English Use (based upon English traditions in ROCOR) is authoritative according to the Holy Synods of ROCOR, Russia, and others.

"... the plea practically ignores the existence of the Eastern Churches. The adoption of Roman Catholic customs would certainly not help on Reunion with them; on the contrary, it might be a serious hindrance. And Reunion without the East would not be Reunion at all."

In Nomine Dei Summi - Sermon 7

2004-12-25T09:53:00.000-06:00

From R. E. McNally, "In nomine Dei summi": Seven Hiberno-Latin Sermons', Traditio 35 (1979), pp. 121-43.

------------------------------------

In the name of God most high.

There are seven Signs which have cleansed this world.

The first Sign: the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ from the virgin Mary, so that we might be reborn in the innocence and simplicity of children.

The second Sign: Christ died for us, so that we might die to our sins.

The third Sign: he was buried, so that, as the apostle says 'we might be buried with' Christ.

The fourth Sign: he rose from the dead, so that we might rise from the dead and from our sins to the perfect life and spiritual bodies.

The fifth Sign: he ascended into heaven, that we might follow in his footsteps through our power, that is through good thoughts and good words and good works.

The sixth Sign: he sits at the right hand of God the Father, which points to our eternal stability in the kingdom of the eternal God.

The seventh Sign: that we look forward to Christ when he will give the rewards to his saints 'on the day of judgement' accordingly to their merits, as the apostle says: 'he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows' in blessing 'will reap' in blessing in life eternal.

(From "Journeys on the Edge: the Celtic Tradition" by Thomas O'Loughlin, (Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series) 2000, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd. )

In Nomine Dei Summi - Sermon 6

2004-12-25T09:17:00.000-06:00

From R. E. McNally, "In nomine Dei summi": Seven Hiberno-Latin Sermons', Traditio 35 (1979), pp. 121-43.

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In the name of God most high.

It is fitting for each and every one of us to love his soul, just as he loves his body.

The body when it is hungry seeks food; when thirsty it seeks drink; when it is naked, clothing; when it labours it seeks rest; when it is sleepy it seeks sleep. Just so the soul also needs these things: the food of the soul is the Word of God; its drink is prayer or wisdom; its clothes are a firm faith in Christ; its rest is truth; its sleep is humility. On this last point scripture says: 'I will overlook any other except for the one who is humble and quiet and trembles at my word'; and in another place: 'he who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted'; and Christ says, 'Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart'; and in another place: 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble'.

So it behoves us to lift up our souls
from the present things to the things that are absent,
from sadnesses to joy,
from fallen things to eternal things,
from earthly things to heavenly things,
from the lowest things to the high things,
from the absence of God to his presence,
from journeying to our own inheritance,
from the region of death to the region of life
in which we shall see the heavenly things 'face to face' and the king of kings reigning over the eternal things, with whom we, destined to last, will reign always without end in the eternal kingdoms of the eternal king. Amen.

(From "Journeys on the Edge: the Celtic Tradition" by Thomas O'Loughlin, (Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series) 2000, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd. )

In Nomine Dei Summi - Sermon 5

2004-12-24T09:43:00.000-06:00

From R. E. McNally, "In nomine Dei summi": Seven Hiberno-Latin Sermons', Traditio 35 (1979), pp. 121-43.

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In the name of God most high.

'Fear the Lord' and 'love' always, for the Lord is gentle and generous with those who love him; but he is furious and angry with sinners and with those who have contempt for his commandments.

God teaches vigils,
The devil teaches sleepiness.

God teaches fasting,
The devil teaches saturation.

God teaches generosity,
The devil teaches avarice.

God teaches chastity,
The devil teaches fornication.

God teaches gentleness,
The devil teaches anger.

God teaches patience,
The devil teaches impatience.

God teaches humility,
The devil teaches pride.

God teaches peace,
The devil teaches controversy.

God teaches love of neighbour,
The devil teaches killing.

If we consent to the Lord, he leads us into the kingdom.

If we consent to the devil, he leads us into hell; hence we resist him with strength, and he flees from us.

Love the Lord for it is good, he always was, and is, and will be.

We shall reign with him without end, if 'we keep his commandments' and we will be 'sons of God'.

Scripture speaks to each and every one of us: do not sell your wheat for straw, nor give away your light for the darkness, nor your God for a human being. The love of a human being leads to sorrow; the love of Christ enlightens the heart and leads to eternal life. So love your God as he has loved you. 'He who perseveres' in the love of Christ 'up to the end, he will be saved'.

(From "Journeys on the Edge: the Celtic Tradition" by Thomas O'Loughlin, (Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series) 2000, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd. )

In Nomine Dei Summi - Sermon 4

2004-12-24T09:35:00.000-06:00

From R. E. McNally, "In nomine Dei summi": Seven Hiberno-Latin Sermons', Traditio 35 (1979), pp. 121-43.

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In the name of God most high.

'Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things will be given to you'. We seek with the heart, we ask with the mouth, we knock with good works. If, therefore, we relinquish all vices and all that is contrary to the will of God, we shall possess the kingdom with the angels and archangels and the prophets, and with the apostles and martyrs, where there will be rejoicing without end, serenity with a cloud, a kingdom without turmoil.

However, not all those who seek the kingdom of this world find it; and he who has found it does not possess it forever. Everyone who seeks the kingdom of God with faith and justice finds it, and he who has found it is never sent away. But the kingdom of this world is like a shadow on water, and 'the glory' of man is like 'the flower of the grass'. But 'the grass withers and its flowers fall away'. But the kingdom of this world is like a dream in the night; but the friends of God remain forever. For all 'those things which are seen are temporal, but those things which are not seen are eternal'. Therefore, 'Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things will be given to you'.

So one should first seek the kingdom through good works, that is charity and fasting and prayer and humility and benevolence; and whatever we need, that will be placed before us, and he gives us immortality and eternal life for our good works. God does not seek the start of the work but its end.

(From "Journeys on the Edge: the Celtic Tradition" by Thomas O'Loughlin, (Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series) 2000, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd. )

In Nomine Dei Summi - Sermon 3

2004-12-22T08:56:00.000-06:00

From R. E. McNally, "In nomine Dei summi": Seven Hiberno-Latin Sermons', Traditio 35 (1979), pp. 121-43.

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In the name of God most high.

In the first place, it is proclaimed through the pages of sacred scripture, that all the inhabitants, both believers and unbelievers alike, scattered over the whole earth believe faithfully in the almighty trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three Persons, one God, remaining in one divine substance; who is the creator of the universe, i.e. the heavens and the earth and the sea, maker of all things visible and invisible, and the creator of the angles and archangels and of the whole celestial army of powers.

We are instructed by divine oracles that this God of great power is above all, and that we should love our creator 'from our whole heart and from our whole soul and with our whole strength'.

Similarly, for all those who desire to reach eternal life, it is most necessary to believe and confess Jesus Christ our Lord. That he is truly the only-begotten Son of the Father, who for our salvation came down from the heavens sent by the Father, and was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Saint Mary ever virgin. And that he was born 'in Bethlehem of Judah', the first-born of his mother according to the predictions of the holy prophets.

In his divinity he is, before the ages, the source of the universes, without any beginning he remains with the Father, being 'the Word through whom all things were made'. As a human being he humbly and mercifully assumed flesh, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died, and was buried, and on the third day he rose from the dead in the same flesh, and in the same body after forty days 'he ascended over all the heavens' and he sits at the right hand of God. From whence in the final time of the ages he will come again in his glory and of the Father and of the holy angels, the moment of the burning of the heavens and the earth, and coming with the earth trembling 'in the voice of the archangel and with the sound of the trumpet of God' to judge the living and the dead and 'to render to each one according to his works'. Then there will be the everlasting life after death prepared for all the saints, but for the impious and the sinners there will be the eternal punishments and these will be undimmed forever.

So the Christian stands upon the foundation of faith, while he raises the structure of good works; but first those evil works which scripture prohibits are to be avoided, then the good works, which are pleasing to God, are to be built. Blessedness is prepared for those, who according to the psalmist 'move away from evil and do good' by the most excellent Jesus Christ, our Lord, 'to whom is glory forever and ever. Amen'.

(From "Journeys on the Edge: the Celtic Tradition" by Thomas O'Loughlin, (Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series) 2000, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd. )

In Nomine Dei Summi - Sermon 2

2004-12-21T18:11:00.000-06:00

From R. E. McNally, "In nomine Dei summi": Seven Hiberno-Latin Sermons', Traditio 35 (1979), pp. 121-43.

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In the name of God most high.

Come together frequently to the church! Declare your sins to the priests; and on account of your sins ask them to ask God that he be generous to you.

You ought to offer offerings every Day of the Lord for yourselves and your families. For what is worthy and acceptable to God is this, that Christians (who often act negligently) should wash away their sins through holy offerings, through alms, through pure prayer and contrition of heart, and through fasting and abstinence. And in this way you ought to act in all things.

Consider yourselves! For what were you born into the world? For what other than that you should do good? And if you do something through ignorance and stupid contrariness, it is necessary that you amend for this through a good work, and seek that it will be brought home to your memory that the way you live with your wife will be the manner that is fitting for a Christian.

Lay out honour to your parents.

You should love your wife.

You should teach your children the law of God and the catholic [law] with the greatest discipline so that they may know how to love and fear God, and to honour their parents - for this is what is pleasing to God.

Above all you must abstain from foul talk. Do not detract from your neighbour, and if he does something that displeases you, talk with him and admonish him with charity; and if that profits you, you will save yourself also.

Take care about drunkenness on all occasions, for it is a great destroyer of the soul. Just as fire easily sets fire to the stubble and the light straw, so drunkeness corrupts the soul and casts it into great sin.

When you enter the house of God, reflect with great fear that then you are going to your master so that you can beseech him for what you have neglected, and you are asking for a life which perhaps you do not deserve on account of your sins. And while you are standing in the church, always have your mind raised to God, and always watch with the eyes of your heart how consolation is offered to you by God from on high. If you do this often, and you have God always before your eyes, then the Adversary will flee from you and will not prevail against you. Then the angel of the Lord is a helper with you in these good things, where he looks through your mind to see if you have a prepared soul. Reflect that 'God is honourable' and that he accepts the prayers of those who pray with purity, and he does not delay his promises. At once he received the cries and lightens and stretches out his help to those who are sorry.

How is it possible to perform something good which you have in your minds? If the last day finds you with these good works, then the angels will greet you and will receive you with joy, and they will lead you before the tribunal of judgement, there you will receive according as you have done. This should not be put to one side among you, for our Lord Jesus Christ has announced this to us, through the holy scripture which is read each day in the catholic church, that the end of this world is coming closer every day, and the signs which predict it are being found each day. I hope his coming will be in the very near future and that he will judge the whole universe with fire. Whatever is made plain to our eyesight, we know this: that 'on the last day' when the sin of humans will be complete, the Lord will not wish to endure this any more, then fire will come forth from the Lord to burn the whole universe with all the things that are in it, and everything will be reduced to nothing on account of the sins of human beings. Then next, and after not many days, almighty God will rebuild all the better things that had been in it, and it will be the resurrection of human beings, and all human beings, both good and bad, shall have to rise in one moment. And then our Lord Jesus Christ has to come to judge where he has placed them, 'and all the angels with him' and all 'the powers of the heavens will be shaken'. 'Then' the king, the redeemer of all, 'will sit' in the seat 'of his majesty and before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats'. 'He will place those' who are good to his right, but the evil ones to his left.

'Then' he 'will say to those on his right, "Come, O blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which is prepared for you from the beginning of the world." ' And he will continue saying: 'For I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink, I was naked and you covered me, sick and in prison and you visited me.' Then the just will answer him, 'O Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or sick or in prison, and serve you?' Then he will say to them, 'As much as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me'.

And then he will say to those who are on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is predestined for the devil and his angels. I hungered and you did not give me to eat, I thirsted and you did not give me to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, I was naked and you did not cover me, sick and in prison and you did not minister to me'.

Consider, my children, the great piety of God, and ask that in the coming judgement that he will not reprove our sins, nor say 'You have done evil', but rather that he chide those who have acted and have not mended their ways. So this is something to be considered by us in all things while each of us is able, while each has time and has his reward in his hands. In so far as he has the upper hand, each person can buy himself back so that when it comes to him he will not be with the evil ones sent into hell, but with those who on account of good works are received into the heavenly kingdom. For there will be a separation between the good and the bad, after which none of the good will be with the bad, nor any of the bad with the good: each will have that sort of companion he joined with in this life and has willed to be with forever, goodness has not ebbed from the good person, nor evil from the sinners and the negligent who have walked with proud hearts and in the desires of the flesh who, having finished this life, shall live forever in the eternal tortures without either end or remedy.

Just as the Lord has offered and promised that those who love and fear him, and keep his commandments, shall rejoice with him without end in the heavenly kingdom, so those who consent to the allure of the Adversary and have not improved their ways will be tortured without end.

So the Almighty saves us and rescues us with the greatest love. And he gives this to us so that when we do evil, we can improve; and so with that help be found worthy to come to the everlasting good life, he helping us who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

(From "Journeys on the Edge: the Celtic Tradition" by Thomas O'Loughlin, (Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series) 2000, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd. )

In Nomine Dei Summi - Sermon 1

2004-12-20T11:03:00.000-06:00

These sermons are of anonymous authorship, and were in circulation before the 10th c. throughout the Celtic world. Quotes from them are found in Anglo-Saxon writings as well (and even in the Upper Rheinland by the early 9th c.). The content of one sermon pinpoints that the sermons were likely written about the time that the Nicene Creed became a feature of liturgical prayer in the West. From R. E. McNally, "In nomine Dei summi": Seven Hiberno-Latin Sermons', Traditio 35 (1979), pp. 121-43.

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In the name of God most high.

It is indeed fitting that we should first hear justice and then understand it. THen we ought to offer the fruit of those teachings we have understood, just as the apostle tells us: 'it is not the hearers, but the doers of the law who will be justified'. Thus in whatever manner we have tasted life, we do not rest from fulfilling the law, since the taste of death is that which awaits us in the future. So the prophet foretold: 'who is the man who can live and not' taste 'death'? But in whatever way death was given 'in Adam', so it rules in all his sons and at life's end this is what the future holds for each and every human being. Then two opponents will come to meet him: an enemy, an Ethiopian black as a raven or quenched coals, the other an army in garments white as snow. And over the soul of each one they will hold a contest to see if he be just or unjust; and both protagonists shall know to which of them he belongs.

If in this contest the demons find that the person is one of their allies they all rejoice, and by the same token the angels are saddened.

The demons say: 'That man is ours! He was unarmed in the battle, he was not brave, and he failed to bear the arms of Paul the apostle, "the shield of faith" "and the sword of the" holy "Spirit which is the word of God" and the "breastplate of justice" and "the helmet of salvation" which he ought to have carried for warfare against us. Arouse him and drag him from his body and give him terrors and horrors and lead him to the terrible places where he will see all the trials.'

Then that soul, who sees nothing in the present life, says: 'O great distress!' Having heard it all before, the demons reply: 'Even greater is about to be given to you. We have tethered you to the first-formed Satan who is bound with his attendant mob in the deepest hole'.

Then the soul says: 'Great is the darkness!' The demons reply: 'It will get even worse for you.'

Then the third time it says: 'The way is rough!' The demons reply: 'The future is even rougher for you. You will see the bitterness of your kind who have abandoned "the tents of the just".'

Then the demons will say: 'Divide up into two opposing groups, one group to start and the other to follow and sing to him songs from the songs of David: "Why do you rejoice in evil-doing?"; and then again "God has plucked you out and up-rooted you from the land of the living"; and then say: "There is no help for him in his God".'

Michael meanwhile never abandons a soul until he allots it its reward before the judgement seat of the Trinity. He sees all the works that the soul has done and, holding his book in his hands, he lays out for it either good things or bad. And if the angels find the soul to belong to them, they rejoice while the demons grieve. Then the angels say: 'That man is ours for he was strong in the conflict and solid in the battle and was welcoming and merciful. He was helpful, remembered nothing evil, guarded every good, and he did not push away the arms of Paul the apostle, namely, "the shield of faith" "and the sword of the" Holy "Spirit which is the word of God" and "the breastplate of justice" and "the helmet of salvation" which are the instruments of war. Arouse him gently from his body so that he sees nor feels nothing of fear or sadness or doubt.'

Then the soul says: 'Great is the light!'

The angels responding say: 'It will be greater for you yet and you will see the brightness of God as it were "face to face" and not as "in a mirror" nor through a veil in the way that the sons of Israel looked on the face of Moses'.

The soul then speaks again: 'Great is the joy!'

The angels reply: 'It will be even greater for you. You will see the joy of the angels coming to meet you with their divine singing, and with all the saints saying "These are they who have come through great tribulation and have washed their garments and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'

And the soul spoke a third time: 'The road is sweet!'

The angels replied: 'It is going to be even sweeter for you. We are going to lead you to the tents of the just away from the haunts of the wicked.'

Then the angels said: 'Divide up into two armies, one group to start and the other to follow and sing to him songs from the songs of David where he manifests the blessedness of the soul on entering into the house of God'. They said: 'Blessed is he whom you choose and take up, O Lord; he will dwell in your tents. We will be filled with good things in your house. Holy is your temple and wonderful in equity'. 'There is no acceptance of persons there,' nor nobility of kind, for God 'rewards each one according to his works'. The wicked depart 'into eternal fire', 'but the just into eternal life'.

(From "Journeys on the Edge: the Celtic Tradition" by Thomas O'Loughlin, (Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series) 2000, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd. )

First Christians in America

2004-11-25T18:08:00.002-06:00

Often folk assume that the first Christians in America were either with Christopher Columbus, or (with Orthodox) the Russians in Alaska. However, the tale of Christianity in America really begins with the Gaels and Vikings.

Greenland is part of North America, though not attached to the mainland. When Leif Ericsson (a Greenlander, so an American) made his first journey, it was to Norway where he received the faith from St. Olaf, the King of Norway. His mother was also a Christian (many of the Icelanders who settled Greenland were Christians, as the first 'Norse' in Greenland where Hebridean Norse that held to Irish Christianity - especially the paruchia of St. Columba.) St. Olaf placed the Vestmenn (West-men, ie Americans) under the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen (today in Germany between Holland and Denmark - in those days, part of Greater Frisia.) They took priests with them back to Greenland, and also on to Vinland. This all, of course, is before the Great Schism. Hamburg-Bremen at the time was part of the larger Northern Church with its center at Canterbury (during the reign of Cnut Dane, King of England, Denmark, Norway and part of the Swedes.)

An early Christian on the mainland was Thorvald, who was killed in an encounter with the Skraelings (possibly the Beothuk or Micmac Algonquins.) His burial place was named 'Crossness' by the Greenlander West-men, and thus is the place of first Christian burial in mainland Americas.

Even earlier is the tale of Ari Marson, who in 983 was captured by natives when blown off course to 'Vinland'. It was said that the later Viking explorers came across Ari again - in Hvitramannaland (White-robed men's land) also called Great Ireland "...behind and interior to Vinland." Ari had been baptized there by Irish monks, and made king over the natives (mixed Indian and Irish.) An Icelandic witness to St. Brendan the Navigator and other Irish indeed coming to the New World?

Eventually, a bishopric for the New World was established (during the period when the schism was developing, but before it the 'Sack of Constantinople' and its finality of excommunication) - this bishopric continued down to the early decades of the 16th century - the Greenland colony (with visits to Vinland) overlapping Columbus' voyages. The final end of the Greenland colony was due some believe to a 'mini-Ice Age', though local legends and contemporary Scandinavian records blame the depredations of English and Basque pirates, and finally the end of the few survivors at the hands of the Inuit (who were also recent in that area.) Between the end of the Christian Scandinavian culture of North America (c. 1520) and the founding of the English Christian colonies (1582) was roughly two generations of possibly Scandinavian influenced exploration and visits for potash, lumber, furs and fish by English enterprise. The first British colony was actually at Vinland (though it failed) though it overlapped the foundation of the Scots colony of Annapolis Royal about two decades later - which survived til today as the first permanent English speaking colony (Fort Popham, Maine and Jamestown, VA were founded only two years later.) Thus there is a thin thread of continuity before the Anglican settlement of Virginia (which was less 'Protestant' ie Reformed/Calvinist/Congregationalist/Puritan than the New England colonies a decade and a half later.)

The rite of worship of these Scandinavians (Orthodox Catholic Christians) of America was that of Trondheim, being a local adaptation of the use of Sarum ... the English who first colonized America being only one to two generations removed from full Sarum (and for recusants, not removed at all) and at least following the new English BCP's which were also adaptations of the Sarum. So - a continuity of worship with the first Christians on the continent from the days before the 'Great Schism'

(Another interesting note: the old usages of the Celtic/Anglo-Saxon church were preserved at Sherbourne Abbey, and became part of the Sarum usage at Salisbury in Norman times - the temporal lord over Sherbourne was none other than Sir Walter Raleigh, who may be considered in more than one way the 'Father of the American colonies'. America, of course, was named so before Amerigo Vespucci made his voyage or maps - the local tradition being that it was named so for the Bristol harbor-master, Richard Americ by Cabot on his voyage of 1497 - just 5 years after Columbus first voyage, and while the Greenland settlement still existed. Vespucci, whose real name was Alberrico, not Amerigo til a name change in the early 16th c., did not make his first voyage until 2 years after Cabot and the naming of America.)

Fasting in the ROCOR WRITE (Sarum)

2004-11-16T20:48:00.002-06:00

"The Advent Fast is for forty days, through to the eve of the Holy Nativity, during which period fish may be eaten. The exception to this is the Feast of Saint Finnian, Skellig Michael Monastery and Orthodox Monasticism in the West (25th of December) on which day the fast is entirely relaxed.

Lent begins on the Monday of the fifth week before Holy Week, and continues through Holy Week. Abstention from meat, fish and dairy products is observed, except on Palm Sunday and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 7th of April, when fish may be eaten. On Saturdays and Sundays of Lent, wine, oil and fish may be eaten. This selection of foods is applied to the other fast periods mentioned below, except when indicated otherwise.

The Fast of the Holy Apostles starts on Monday after of Trinity Sunday and ends on the celebration of Apostles Peter and Paul.
The Fast of the Dormition runs for a fortnight up to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Wednesday and Friday of every week throughout the year.
The day before the Epiphany.
The day of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.

Prescribed days of Prayer and Fasting

Ember Days. Four groups of three days each. Where these fall inside a more extensive fast, they are observed as strict days.
1. The Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following the Feast of Saint Lucy (27th of December).
2. The Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following the first Sunday of Lent.
3. The Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following Whitsunday
4. The Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (27th of September).

Rogation Days. The Major Rogation is the 25th of April and the Minor Rogations are the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before the Feast of the Ascension. On such days, as well as fasting, the Great Litany shall be sung in the church. This practice dates from about AD470. "