Although this is a moderated site, when it comes to long-time posters, we will often put your comments through and read them later so you have the opportunity to respond to one another more quickly.
One or two of you have let us down on occasion and posted stuff you know should not be out there. (Calling groups of people insulting names comes to mind.) Thousands of readers see it. It reflects badly on us but more importantly, on the people who take the time to post here with quality content, which is what makes this blog what it is. You abuse our collective trust when you do this.
So we are implementing a new rule. If we have to delete something you posted because we trusted you to know better, there will be a one month minimum moratorium before you will be allowed to post here again, if ever.
Thank you, Gail.
Speaking for myself, I was very disappointed –horrified actually–to read that post which contained a derogatory racial term. Although I cherish free speech and I have absolutely no problem with critiques of individuals and/or groups of people, such critiques must be based on facts and not degenerate into invective.
It will not be tolerated.
Gail, perfectly sound until the very end “if ever”?
Seems a bit harsh. Only blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the only unforgivable sin.
I have been posting here since the inception of the blog and have a pretty good record I think but not perfect. There are certain subjects that are inflammatory.
I recommend the approach of Father Stephen Freeman. When something gets out of hand it is rarely just one post. He deletes a whole sequence including his own comments along with an apology. He will prevent particularly contentious posters from posting. Like those Protestants who live to blaspheme the Theotokos.
It is a difficult task to handle with both charity and discretion. It would behoove us all to recognize that and keep you and George in our prayers.
Just a thought.
There is a difference between forgiving a sin and withdrawing and/or reinstating a privilege that is attached to certain requirements as a condition of commenting here.
Fr. Stephen Freeman doesn’t have a blog, Michael. He works for Ancient Faith. They have their own guidelines and procedures that work for the many bloggers they employ. https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/blogs/
Point made.
This is not intended to be a public post, but I don’t mind if it is.
The moderators of this site are going to have to decide how to deal with a few members who have been subtly trying to shift the ‘overton window’ of certain subjects in the blog comments. My remarks here are not about the moderators, the general readership of the site, or even the regular commentators. I’m talking about a handful of people. And I am not accusing the moderators of negligence, because subtlety is part of the strategy.
If you go back and look at any time Jews are referenced on this blog in the relatively recent past, you’ll see a pattern of behavior that includes trying to normalize literal neo-nazi talking points and links to associated material. These posters have also done things, paraphrasing, like ‘joking’ that Hitler had more virtues than certain controversial Orthodox hierarchs. Without naming names, one of them is the poster who was the reason for this blog advisory I am replying to.
Now, I’m not going to tell you how to run your site. I will, however, offer two cents from some experience that you are not going to be able to rehabilitate these posters. They are going to look to push the boundaries of what they can get away with any chance they can. And the more success they have, the more likely they will be able to enlist other like minded people to start commenting on the site to help drive their agenda. The good news is, the cancer is only stage one, and highly treatable.
Flavius, we appreciate your criticism.
If I may though, we here at Monomakhos are committed to free speech. That means that within the proper parameters (i.e. no inflammatory or derogatory comments imputed to ethnic or racial groups), we fervently believe that no group is above criticism or reproach. Again, provided it is factually based and not on unfounded conspiracy theories, we will publish critiques of any group or individual.
It is my own fervent belief that no one is above criticism. But (and there’s always a “but”) it must be done in a spirit of dispassion. And, since this is an Orthodox Christian blog, it should be done in a spirit of charity.
I wonder if calling people “literal Nazis” falls under the category of “calling groups of people insulting names”. It’s probably the most common (though socially acceptable) instance of an ad-hominem that seeks to shift the Overton Window in a very specific direction. That this particular dehumanization tactic is socially acceptable does not make it any less shameful. Throwing the word “racist” around without thought is another example of this behavior that is, in my opinion, as unacceptable as a racial slur. Indeed, it most often *is* a racial slur!
I didn’t see the comment that inspired this post, and I don’t doubt that I’d find it distasteful, but pulling out the “Nazi card” is rarely if ever justified, and it’s a shame that it has become so commonplace–particularly in a country whose ancestors fought against the “literal Nazis”. For instance, if I happened to express many of the opinions that my great-grandfather (who lost the use of one of his legs fighting the Nazis) held, there’d be no shortage of White Knight Virtue Signalers calling me a literal Nazi. Free speech, after all, is essentially only for progressive use. All else is hate speech, fit only for “literal Nazis”–who deserve to be silenced into oblivion.
Talk about shifting the Overton Window…
WR,
Respectfully, I would invite you to pursue various material published by ‘The Daily Stormer’. I don’t refer to things as ‘neo-nazi’ lightly, and I am most curious if this publication and the associated people involved crosses your threshold of legitimate comparison versus hyperbole. If you think those are fine folks whose work should be endorsed by participants of this site, then I apologize for smearing their good name in your eyes.
. . . “The Daily Stormer” is not any more despicable than what BLM and most of corporate America, including the legacy news media, says openly about white people. Which is to say utterly despicable. The difference is that anti-white racism is not just allowed, but encouraged and rewarded. Dissenters to this despicable anti-white racism are silenced, de-platformed, fired, called “literal Nazis”, etc. And this is all helped along by sanctimonious virtue-signaling gate-keepers who LARP at sticking it to the “literal Nazis” by posting low-risk morality trolls whenever and wherever anyone strays from the radical bio-Leninist orthodoxy.
And I would respectfully invite you to carefully read–rather than merely peruse–Katherina’s final speech in The Taming of the Shrew, and I’d ask you if you’d consider this an acceptable perspective to have. If not, why not?
The powers that be do not approve of satire,
particularly of themselves…
The Daily Stormer. There could be some Booagloo involved with the protest, but I’m certain that left wing groups because the white nationalist are involved too.
Spot on WR. Thank you!
“I would invite you to pursue various material published by ‘The Daily Stormer’. I don’t refer to things as ‘neo-nazi’ lightly, and I am most curious if this publication and the associated people involved crosses your threshold of legitimate comparison versus hyperbole.”
I’m confused on why you think Anti-Semitism is limited to the Nazis and Neo-Nazis and their websites. Blacks, Muslims, Communists and fellow travelers, the Democrat party, etc, etc, etc, all have factions and powerful individuals that repeat these “talking points,” often while accusing the Jews/Israel of themselves being the modern Nazis, within Congress and the mainstream media itself.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-squad-talking-point-boycotting-israel-like-boycotting-nazi-germany
The tight-knit “Squad” of freshman progressive lawmakers has started to adopt a curious new talking point — defending Israel boycotts by likening them to boycotts against Nazi Germany.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was the latest to make this comparison, speaking on the House floor Tuesday in opposition to a bipartisan resolution against the movement known as BDS — which calls for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israel.
[…]
Days earlier, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., introduced a resolution of her own that subtly supported BDS without specifically mentioning Israel. That resolution also utilized the Nazi Germany comparison.
===========
Everyone I don’t like is LITERALLY HITLER, the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ToEvz-7trY
Hilarious! Clearly, for all the alleged faults of the GOP, Evangelicals and Wypepo in general, you will hardly find anti-Semitism in their ranks. As you pointed out Myst, all the real anti-Semitism –and the one that makes a difference vis-a-vis Israel–is 100% on the Left.
Good point.
I will take this opportunity to make a public apology and admission of guilt in this matter. My bad! I reckoned (incorrectly) that my use of the term in the context of the previous post would be taken in a humorous and non-malicious way, similar to how my comrades and I in the military would use similar (and worse) terminology in racially-mixed environments, with tongues firmly in cheek.
I ask the forgiveness of our gracious hosts and anyone was offended by it.
I appreciate that, Basil. Thank you.
I second Gail’s sentiment.
Please, everybody: let’s try to keep things as charitable as possible.
Well said all… might be nice to refer to Orthodox hierarchs by their correct names, and not the nicknames that seem to indicate disdain. You’re permitted your opinions about their motives, intentions, etc., but is it really necessary to demean them by such small-mindedness? It really only demeans the one using such names. If you truly don’t recognize these hierarchs as canonical bishops of the canonical Church, then why refer to them at all? And if that is the case, is your jurisdiction in communion with them? At some point, despite radical differences in contemporary Orthodoxy, as in the United States, we have to come to terms with the fact that we still belong to one Church and one Country. Or else declare yourself free from each or either and go your own way in schism, heresy or whatever brings you peace.
I think the nicknames are because they are public figures and their formal titles are a bit much, e.g. His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis) of America, Most Honorable Exarch of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Calling him Elpi is not small mindedness. Bartholomew calls him “Sunflower”.
Small-minded means “having or showing rigid opinions or a narrow outlook; petty.” If you really believe we do that, why not declare yourself free from us and go your own way?
Why not let Bishops keep their nicknames? It’s a free country and they have earned them. Our Bishops work tirelessly to earn those nicknames. Don’t deprive them of a chance at acquiring some humility.
I think they should let me keep mine, because I have a lot of trouble with Greek names. It took me months to learn how to spell my last name. So when I call the former Elpidophoros of Bursa, “Epidural of Bursitis” I don’t see why anyone should have a problem with it. (Ask George. I really do call him Epidural at home.)
It’s called “Aping Trump.” And he just surpassed himself today. Yesterday it was “Yo, Semites Park.” Today it’s a hospital: “Mount Sinny-Eye!” English is so hard for the poor guy! I suggest he quietly ask Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron to lend him a speech coach!
Thaut youd enjoie this artekal you graze. . .
One of the many unexpected side effects of the internet is that it’s shown us just how many people appear to lose the capacity for emotional self-regulation when confronted with a misused semicolon. Scroll through the comments section of any publication or simply sign on to Twitter, and you’ll find plenty of examples of people who treat typos and grammatical errors not just as ordinary mistakes, but as a kind of moral offense.
“People love tweeting mean-spirited things to BuzzFeed when they see a typo or an error, sometimes not even by one of our writers or reporters but a community post, which can be written by anyone,” says Emmy Favilla, BuzzFeed’s copy chief and the author of the forthcoming book A World Without ‘Whom’, a book about language and the internet. “They’ll tweet at us, ‘BuzzFeed sucks,’ or ‘Do you even have copy editors?’”
Whether they’re correcting publications or individuals, hyper-vigilant grammar nerds are often out to prove their own intellectual or cultural superiority, as Matthew J.X. Malady writes in a 2013 Slate column. “When people, especially publicly, correct others’ mistakes, a lot of that has to do with signaling to other people,” psychology professor Robert Kurzban tells Malady. “People are trying to signal their expertise, because being able to identify mistakes indicates that you know more about something than the person who committed the error.”
In other words, maybe the shock and fury expressed by some online commenters over a misspelled word is actually performative. It’s one thing to notice and even feel pained by a typo; it’s another to announce your pain to the world.
Mastery of grammar, spelling and punctuation is a class signifier. Proper online usage is a sign that you know—and care—about playing by the rules. In Jane Austen novels, women show potential suitors that they can paint and speak French and they force party guests listen to them sing dreary songs at the piano. On the internet, know-it-alls show off to other know-it-alls that they can differentiate between use cases of “that” and “which.”
“It’s also why things like grammar quizzes do so well,” says Favilla. “People love evidence that confirms they know more than everyone else.” BuzzFeed now offers a healthy supply of grammar quizzes, and the New York Times last year debuted a “Copy Edit This!” quiz that offers readers a new way to enjoy one of their favorite pastimes—spotting the tiny flaws in recent news articles.
There’s nothing wrong with taking online copy editing quizzes. In fact, this seems like a great way to channel one’s extra energy! And it’s certainly useful to correct a publication’s errors, although ideally you’d message the author privately instead of shouting subject-verb conflicts from the Twitter rooftops. Grammar can change the meaning of a sentence, and mistakes often make a person’s point harder to understand.
The big problem with ostentatious online correcting is that it often winds up shutting down conversation. When a grammar stickler obsesses over the proper placement of an apostrophe in a Facebook status or a blog post, they’re not engaging with the actual content. How many times have we seen an online commenter whose only remark on a post about the author’s struggles with body image is “It’s their not there,” or a Twitter acquaintance who proudly screenshots a typo in a New York Times article on science education? The instinct to publicly criticize and police linguistic errors is also a way to avoid wading into the muck of other people’s thoughts and feelings, and redirect the conversation back toward oneself.
Moreover, because young or poor or immigrant populations are often among those who may not conform to traditional English grammar and spelling and punctuation usage, focusing on linguistic deviations can reinforce the barriers of privilege. Consider the language-ability requirement in US Republicans’ proposed immigration bill, and its underlying sentiment: Until you talk the way I want you to, I don’t have to care about you.
Of course, this problem predates the internet. Virginia Woolf captured the crux of the issue in the preface to her 1928 novel Orlando:
Finally, I would thank, had I not lost his name and address, a gentleman in America, who has generously and gratuitously corrected the punctuation, the botany, the entomology, the geography, and the chronology of previous works of mine and will, I hope, not spare his services on the present occasion.
Here’s my guess about what was going on with Woolf’s gentleman in America. Clearly he was somewhat interested in her ideas—he was reading a bunch of her writing. But he didn’t quite want to believe that she might know some things that he didn’t. And so he turned himself into the Inspector Javert of modernist literature, doggedly pursuing Woolf in search of opportunities to point out her mistakes.
He did find some. Even brilliant novelists slip up here and there. But what a boring way to interact with the world! Think of how much more he might have gleaned from Woolf if he’d been more like those two diners in The Princess Diaries, and swallowed a dangling modifier or two in sympathy—choosing connection instead of isolation, with the understanding that mistakes are only human.
https://qz.com/1045292/policing-peoples-grammar-online-is-never-really-about-grammar/
On this subject, I heartily recommend the excellent:
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
by Lynne Truss
If I get to the point where I get my jollies out of the mistakes other people make, please take me offline. I beg you. I do not want to have to explain to our maker how petty and ungracious I have become. I have enough sins to account for.
I fear you misunderstand me, Gail.
Lynn Truss is a hilarious writer who sends it all up,
while gently guiding the reader.
The title alone should alert the alert reader to that.
Does it refer to a panda? Or a boyfriend?
It is the gentlest, happiest way “to lern it rite”.
Brendan, I was responding to Bishop Tikhon, in a circuitous way. He knows it annoys me when he makes fun of people. (Or he should, because I’ve told him often enough.)
It makes me crazy when he channels my mother. She was a first grade teacher for 30 years and like him, she was fond of poking fun of people when they misspell words, use poor grammar or say something stupid. (His Grace absolutely loves doing this with Trump. Biden, however, he leaves alone. Go figure.)
My mother used to take out her red pencil and GRADE the letters I sent home during the summer. She kept them so when I got back I could correct them. She would also grade my penmanship and to make her point, she would go to the mothers of my friends, asking for their letters, so she could say, “I would give Betsy an A for her penmanship. Yours, however, is a B- because of the way you make your loops.” I think this was around the time I abandoned cursive altogether.
She got her come uppins, though. She was asked to introduce an important dignitary at her school district. In front of a room full of other teachers, she said, “. . . and now for the shit of the hoe.” (“hit of the show”) OK, even she laughed about this because she apparently brought the house down. The speaker said he had never received a better introduction. Who doesn’t want to be the shit of the hoe?!
Getting back to your point, Brendan, the title alone did alert the reader. It was filled with misspelled words. I was sure to get His Grace’s attention so I could point out that it is bad manners to poke fun of people like he did in his previous comment.
He won’t respond, though. With him, it’s more of a hit and run kind of thing. We’ll hear from him again when Spell Check fails us or Trump says something stupid at the convention. The other day, I typed “pinned” on FB, but Spell Check, being weak on fraternity vernacular, thought I meant “penned” and overrode what I wrote. Who caught it? His Grace caught it. I should have just left it alone, but being the school teacher’s daughter I am, I acknowledged it, thanked him for bringing it to my attention and I corrected it. (Somewhere, my mother has a smile on her face.)
Everybody makes howlers. It is the job of copy-editors and proofreaders (a much underrated skill) to make sure gross errors never see the light of day. Prior to submitting my collection of poems for publication, I gave the typescript to a writer friend to read over. He pointed to a sentence in one of my notes that, if read in one way, would make me look like a clatty barbarian.
“You don’t mean that” he said.
“Yes I do” said I, sticking to my originally intended meaning – which was the only one that had actually occurred to me.
“No you don’t” he replied, then pointed out how his reading was (in the context) the natural one for the reader to take.
“Oh!” I said, then laughed at my own silliness – from the effects of which he had saved me.
The problem lies in a writer’s tendency to read his own work in the knowledge of what was in his mind when he wrote it. He can read it a thousand times and always read it as meaning what he thought when he wrote it. A copy-editor or proofreader, on the other hand, does not know what the author thinks he has written. All he can do is read what the writer has actually written. Often, these are not the same.
My salutary lesson learned, I am grateful to anyone who points out my mistakes.
PS: I am BrenDAN, not BrenDON.
Think Daniel, not Donald.
His Grace has been pwning people for a long time on the interwebs…..
I know! Gotta love him cause sometimes it’s hard to like him.
“English is so hard for the poor guy!”
Joe Biden’s insane thoughts on hairy legs, roaches, and kids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DbE2SmV2bs
Biden ‘is just lost,’ says Obama’s White House doctor:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/biden-is-just-lost-says-obamas-white-house-doctor
The chief White House doctor to former President Barack Obama is worried about the mental health and stamina of former Vice President Joe Biden, suggesting that “something is not right” with the Democratic presidential nominee.
[…]
“Speaking as someone who was in the White House, [I] saw him frequently around the West Wing and other places like that. I know he’s always been prone to gaffes, but these aren’t gaffes anymore. He can’t form sentences. Sometimes, he can’t complete a thought. I mean, he gets stuck, and he doesn’t know how to get out of the situation that he’s in. And he just finally has to give up,” Jackson told Trump Jr. in an excerpt provided to Secrets.
Suffering from Hellenic overload? 🙂
How can you tell?!
James, I have long suffered from Hellenic overload. What a good phrase.
Is a person a bishop of an ocean in the same way he is headmaster of a school with no students? It’s impossible to take people seriously who have nothing serious about them.
I think it is the same. It’s called “fake it until you make it.”
It’s time for us Greeks of the Orthodox Faith to leave the fake crews. The GOA, and it’s cronies have non-essentialed themselves. They only respect money and fake glory. They dance with demonIc political parties and then demand my respect talent and treasure!?Like my ancestors from the old world, I will go down with the monastery. Lord have mercy on me, and give me strength. This will not be easy for my family. Pray for us.
Except in Houston the Greek Churches are the only normal ones. We just moved here and we could not visit one Antiochian parish as they had a waiting list. The other one we got yelled at for sitting to close together as a family not social distancing from my wife and kids… We Had to have a mask get a temp check to get in the door. Not mandated by Texas but by The Antiochian Bishops. The Greek Church is fairly normal with the exception of no coffee hour and some closed pews. (Even then when the church fills up those open up).
I understand Jacob, but new “normal” is still not normal. The year 2020 has given 20/20 vision to those who want to see. Yet, all around, those with authority over us politically, and religiously, have told us not to believe our own “lying ” eyes.
We pay taxes, and at the very least expect our government to protect us, and that criminals will be prosecuted, not released over and over, to keep burning and looting, and worse leftist arrest those who protect their property, like the McCloskeys. Worse even still labeled a racist if we dare support our President, President Trump!
I digress…
We willfully give back to God and our Church and expect not perfect keepers of our treasure, just a bit conservative, and respectful of our Lord’s Church. Yet! In the end, it will take 100 million dollars to build one church/shrine in New York. This is sinful pride and vanity, later fostering theft, and greed.
We then give awards to pro abortionist such as Cuomo, and also those who support killing babies outside the womb. Apologist for our bishops, like Mr. Lipper, baffle me! Our Church now stands down to our Government! Our government has no right to close our Church down, and our Church should never shut down. They accept the label, non-essential!? All in the GOA shut down, except one Church that I know of in America; Saint Anthony’s Monastery in AZ.
Ironically and shamefully, Metropolitan Gerasimos asked the Governor of Arizona to forcefully shut down Saint Anthony’s Monastery from allowing visitors to attend services. The Governor wisely told the Metropolitan he would involve himself in Church affairs, and visitors came for Holy Week, and Bright Week, and still do. I’m sure if the Governor was a demoncrat the doors would be nailed shut!
Jacob, I am far from a Saint, far from even as faithful as I should be, but those who know better, should know better. Church is essential for us sinners. The Church that has remained open, is my new Church, and they will receive my treasure now.
Will I miss the “normal” of having a Church in my town, and the parish community? Very much so! Will I grieve my child not attending Sunday school whenever it resumes again? Woefully! Most importantly, will I miss the easier access to receiving communion near me? Of course! I have missed much these past months, but what I have gained thru this all is 20/20 vision. New eyes, new path. God help me, guide me, and have Mercy on me.
Dino, very profound words.
Jacob, I’m glad the GOA parish in Houston is behaving normally.
Correction: The Governor of Arizona stated he would NOT involve himself in Church affairs.
Not to waste this addition/correction post, I would like to add that the virus has not spread thru Saint Anthony’s Monastery, even though they allow visitors to visit and attend services. Again, they never changed a thing since the pandemic.
It’s funny that the good metropolitan thinks the governor of AZ would listen to him about anything. I lived in both states and Calif people are fond of trying to tell AZ what to do and AZ ignores them. Like back in 2010 when I worked for Los Angeles County. We got a memo from the mayor, Villaraigosa, saying that we couldn’t even make private phone calls to AZ in retaliation for AZ’s position on immigration! It was so stupid, though, because CA is totally dependent upon Arizona’s Palo Verde nuclear plant for power and this was summer when CA has it’s routine rolling blackouts because they’ve failed to upgrade their power system.
Dino…..Bravo! Outstanding!! Thank you!
I’m sorry for your experience Lee. At least two Antiochian parishes in my area are not following any of the guidelines except for the sign-up list, which is on the honor system as nobody is being turned away.
I pray you find a parish that suits you. Until declared otherwise, GOAA still has grace and there are many fine priests and faithful therein.
GOA or whomever you are: When supposedly Orthodox hierarchs show an incredible distain for anything remotely Orthodox including things that smack of heresy deserves respect when he dishonors his office. My bishop is Bishop Basil of Wichita and Mid-America. I doubt there is a poster here or our hosts would say anything bad about him. Respect, at least in America is earned. Maybe the GOA should learn that. Frankly, it seems that the best priests and Bishops in the GOA get shafted if they are not “Greek” enough even the Greek one’s. Like the saintly priest Fr. Constantine of blessed memory who came out of retirement to serve a Greek parish here in Wichita because the previous priest had been convicted of having unlawfully interfered with some of the altar boys. Theh Bishop that assignedt the previous priest to Wichita knew he had a problem. Fr. Dean’s reward was to be kicked off the retirement plan. So, a few actual Orthodox men of means in my Antiochian parish, with the blessing of Bp. Basil, made sure Fr. Dean and his wife were taken care of. That began about 20 years ago. Fr. Dean just recently reposed. His wife is still with us.
Bishop Basil is a rare bird. I wish he had stayed in the western US. Lots of people hoped he would be the archbishop, obviously not foreign enough to the role of lobbyist for Assad. Integrity is not the idea for the overseas churches. For them it isn’t a church but a consulate, an embassy. You can’t expect much better.
Oh please. Assad has no legal authority over the Church of Antioch. Sure, they like him. He personally went into a war zone and visited the Orthodox parishes that were destroyed by US-funded ISIS terrorists.
That is in contrast with the Turkish President, who as the legal successor to the Ottoman Sultan, must personally approve any man chosen as Ecumenical Patriarchate, as was the case from 1453 to this day.
I will agree with you that Bishop Basil is wonderful. He is doing wonderful things in his diocese that benefit the whole Church, regardless of his title.
Basil, et. al. Electronic communication is very “flat”. No body language, no tone of voice, no physical context or real social context either. That is one reason the creeping virus that Flavius describes works so easily. It can be hell for moderators. Especially since more and more words and phrases that were once common are now considered improper. Including praying in the name of the Holy Trinity as the past two GOA Archbishops have demonstrated.
Tends to make communication both difficult and unnecessarily fraught. What is charitable? To many it is only using an ideological pure list of words and phrases. Every criticism of Jews including Shakespeare is “anti-Semitic” Crazy.
One of the reasons I use my full real name and pretty much anyone that wants to can find me. No one else should be responsible for what I say especially my hosts. I do not do silence well. God forgive me
Why would someone of Orthodox background (Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian, Greek) be sympatethic to Nazi related claims? Those people literally believed Slavic and non Germanic people were inferior human beings and tried to “cleaned” Eastern Europe to make place for their supperior offspring. It’s ridiculous.
Why would someone of Orthodox background (Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian, Greek) be sympatethic to Nazi related claims? These people literally believed Slavic and non Germanic people were inferior human beings and tried to “clean” Eastern Europe to make place for their supperior offspring. It’s ridiculous.
Thank you for doing this. I say this as a fervent Eastern Orthodox Christian and free speech advocate. This blog is too valuable not to do this.
https://www.helleniscope.com/2020/08/20/his-holiness-patriarch-kirill-to-speak-at-the-republican-national-convention/
Yeah, this is fake news.
Quite comical!
No UK editor would have felt it necessary to add:
This article is SATIRE. Laugh Please.
Hilarious! Met. Jonah muttering “there’s only darkness outside ROCOR” got me good.
Talking about Arizona. Around 2014, there was still plenty of folks in Orange County Ca that didn’t like illegal immigration either before the housing prices went up again. La called the OC the Orange Curtain for years until it flipped to Hilary in 2014. It was the birthplace of prop 187. Now, the Phoenix areas in the past 2 years because of tech jobs is now to the left of Orange County Ca. Its the rural areas in Arizona that are more against illegal immigration now.
Everything changes.
One caveat to add. With the notable exception of Tempe, most of the suburbs of Phx are still fairly conservative. Maricopa County (which includes Phx and virtually all of the suburbs) went for DT in the 2016 election). By contrast, Orange County, CA went for HC by almost 9 points.
His Grace Bp Tikhon once tossed water on my then toddler son at the consecration of what is now a cathedral. He smiled, I smiled, it was all good. You don’t get experiences like that in other “branches” of Christianity….
No, you don’t. We get all the good stories!
Is it flashback Thursday? I keep seeing old posts under recent comments, and these change each time I close and reopen the sight. (2016)
Kind of fun and interesting, like Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure.
Is it just me or is there a gggggglitch
Oooh Mr. Peabody, now it’s 2013!
After reprehensible comments on the post “Soros speaks for Biden” (posted back in July) were allowed to be posted I’ve rarely read anything you have posted since (that said, I visited today and this current post is welcome). I remember Gail questioning (in the comments section) the offending commentators what on earth they were posting but they didn’t provide her the courtesy of an answer. A Google search of these posted comments showed me they were virulently anti-semitic. Not too long after, these offending comments were deleted. I hope that the said commentators contacted George and Gail and offered their apology and that they have now realised that anti-semitism can not coexist with Christian belief and praxis.