Bože! independent catholic ideas, identity & theology
Archive for November, 2009
It’s All Very Messy . . .
One thing that is very interesting to me working on our community’s calendar reform project is the messy-ness of the liturgical cycle. There is neither rhyme nor reason to the order of most of the commemorations and feast days. Sometimes – and the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria is an example – the feast [...]
St. Marutha the Persian
Saint Marutha was Bishop of Tagrith (Martyropolis), a city which he founded between the Byzantine Empire and Persia. He was famed for his knowledge and his piety, he wrote about the martyrs, and he suffered for his faith in Christ under the Persian emperor Sapor. He also left behind other works in the Syrian language, [...]
James the Persian
A nobleman, and Christian from birth, James was an intimate of King Yazdegerd I (reigned 399-425). Under influence from the King James renounced Christianity and became a Zorastrian. James’ family was so upset they threatened to cut off all relations with him because he “ had preferred a glory that is temporal to the love [...]
Gobble Gobble . . . . eeeek!
Three curious but very interesting essays on “thanksgiving” and its affect or relationship to theology & praxis. First is this from Religion Dispatches an Indian perspective, with what I think is a very positive ending: “Without a major shift in the way humans thinks about the earth, humans are not only causing the extinction of [...]
Stylianos of Paphlagonia
A monk – a simple holy man – it’s that simple. In a way, that’s rather refreshing. After his death there were numerous miracles associated with his presence, and he has become known as the protector of orphans. Tweet
Hateful “Prayer”?
Faithlab has this interesting snippet about a fundamentalist in California who is openly “praying” for the death of President Obama. They observe (I think correctly) that this is contrary to Jesus’ own example. What is “prayer”? If we accept that it is that dialogue we have with God throughout the day – then is it [...]
Catherine of Alexandria
A wealthy, articulate, scholarly woman, Catherine while still a Pagan vowed to marry only the man who could outshine her in wisdom and knowledge. Her mother, a Christian, sent her to an ascetic for advice. He suggested that there was such a man – Christ. Catherine converted, and became a virgin. At that time the [...]
Peter Archbishop of Alexandria
According to Eusebius (Ecc. Hist. 7.32; 8.11, 13 and 9.6) Peter was an illustrius example of the episcopacy. He served well for 12 years, before becoming the last bishop of Alexandria to be executed by a Pagan authority. Peter was responsible for excommunicating Arius for sympathising with the Melitians. In custody awaiting his martyrdom Arius’ [...]
Day 3 Feast of the Presentation & St. Amphilochius
Firstly, my apologies for not consistently posting over the past two weeks I’ve been enduring an intensive French course. The feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple began on Saturday (21 November). It’s a great feast in so far as it openly celebrates the role of legend in our tradition. The presentation [...]
St. Wilibrord
Today is a major feast for OC/IC folk – St. Wilibrord born in England, became the “Apostle to the Frisians” in the Netherlands, and first bishop of Utrecht. Wilibrord’s shrine is in Luxemburgh where he died, and on his feast day every year there takes place the last known processional dance in Western Europe. Happy [...]
Paul the Confessor
Paul was the secretary, and later (in around AD 337) successor to Alexander Archbishop Constantinople. He came to office at a very turbulent time in the battle between the Arian and “orthodox” parties. This meant that like Athanasius, Paul was elected, deposed, exiled, restored, and deposed again, before being murdered (AD 350) while celebrating liturgy [...]
Burn Less Incense, Build Green Cred
The Economist has a good article on some recent (and not so recent) moves linking religious communities with addressing ecological issues (not just climate change, I’d say). They report that a recent meeting of religious leaders, Prince Philip and Ban Ki-moon resulted in various action plans according to one’s tradition. The Daoists for example have [...]
Religion & LGBT Youth
Given the referendums in the US, and the rise of violent (even deadly) attacks on LGB folk here in the UK this examination of the relationship between religion and LGBT youth appeared to be rather timely. I was not aware for example, of the high percentage of homeless teens who identify as LGB folk. Moreover, [...]
God-Blogging: The Ring Cycle
I stumbled upon this “tip” regarding scheduling one’s use of Twitter. I use Twitter, but only on a limited basis as most regulars might already know. But it did spark an idea relating to God-blogging. If as part of on’es God-blogging one were to “assign” an idea, a theme, or similar to each day of [...]
ReX – Notes On Religious Share Index
“Alternatively, if one denomination unexpectedly adopts an aggressive policy of buying shares in another, then the resulting volatility will make it hard accurately to assess the underlying reality.” Mark Vernon’s essay in the Guardian Online playing with the imagery of possible parallels between the language, dynamic, and psychology of the eddies of spiritual and religious [...]
Hermas of the 70
St. Hermas was one of the 70 sent by the Lord (Lk 10:1-16) to spread the Gospel. He later became a bishop in Philipopoulis. The popular text of Shepherd of Hermas is traditionally attributed to him. Tweet
Nikander & Hermias
Nikander was ordained bishop of Myra by Titus. They brought many people to the faith before being denounced to Libianus, count of the city of Myra. Both men were sealed alive in a tomb for their faith. Tweet