Blog Archives
January 7 Saints of the Day – John the Baptist and Raymond of Peñafort
Our friends on the Old (Julian) Calendar are celebrating Christmas today! Merry Christmas to them! I am doing these little posts on the new calendar for two reasons: (1) that’s what calendar my parish is on, and (2) it is easier for an old-calendar person to look back 13 days than for a new-calendar person to have to wait 13 days. Although since I only started on the first of the year, the old-calendar people will have to wait anyway. But only at first. On we go.
In the Christian east, it is the day after the Great Blessing of the Water, known in warmer climes as Move the Towels to the Dryer (or Clothesline) Day. Today we celebrate the Synaxis of John the Forerunner, aka John the Baptist, a cousin of Jesus. According to the Gospel of St. Luke, John was the first person to recognize Mary as Theotokos, although at the time (he was still in the womb) he might not have put it in exactly those words. Read the rest of this entry
January 6 Feasts of the Day – Theophany and Epiphany
On this day in 1973, Schoolhouse Rock debuted on ABC-TV with the episode, “Three Is a Magic Number,” a major milestone in the history of the rock video. The three-minute educational songs were sung by such luminaries as jazz legend Blossom Dearie (“Peel Me an Adjective”) and the duo of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham (“Dysfunction Junction”).
January 6 has a long history in the Christian church. It was the original date for the celebration of Jesus’ birth in the east, until it was supplanted by December 25 sometime later, primarily due to pressure from the retail sector. Instead, today is Theophany, which commemorates the baptism of Jesus by his cousin John the (wait for it) Baptist, who is also called John the Forerunner. Speaking of “Three Is a Magic Number,” the Church recognizes this event as the first manifestation of the Holy Trinity, featuring as it does (in Matthew 3) Jesus in the role of baptisand, God the Father as the bodiless voice (uncredited), and the Holy Spirit as the dove. Most theologians agree that John did not say, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of yourself, and of the Holy Spirit.”
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Ask Father Vasiliy
Dear Father Vasiliy,
There were no Babushki today at the Divine Liturgy, but there were some people who were sitting down during the service. Would it be okay for me to remind them of the church’s rules? I’m afraid that if I don’t say anything to them, they might not realize that everybody else is standing.
Signed,
Hesitant in Houston
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Ask Father Vasiliy
Fr. Vasiliy Vasileivich is official spokesman for the Church Overseas of Russian Orthodox Christians (COROC), as well as being pastor of Saints Boris and Gleb and Olga and Vladimir Russian Orthodox Church, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. On occasion (when the fit takes him) he condescends to answer questions posed by Onion Dome readers, which pile up in a special “in-box” dedicated to the purpose here at the offices of Onion Dome Publications. We are pleased to announce that the fit has once again taken the good priest, and thus we present for your edification yet another round of, “Ask Father Vasiliy.” (NB: This column was first posted in December, 2003)
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New Schism Developing in Orthodox Church
Now that ROCOR and the MP are talking about reuniting, SCOBA continues to talk about unity, and even the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Pope are glad-handing, a new schism is threatening to rock the Orthodox world to its foundations: dog people vs. cat people.
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