One reason Yours Truly is a conservative in the Burkean, traditionalist, classical liberal sense of the world, is because I’m also a Christian (not a very good one I grant you but I try). True Christians –as opposed to say Unitarians and Joel Osteen types–know that this is a fallen world. We know that we are not perfect and that we cannot ever be so. We also know that the eternal battle between good and evil runs right through our very being.
So, don’t look for perfection in this world. For every positive step or two, there are usually three or more back and four or more sideways. How did we live without microwaves or cell phones or drive-thru windows? Somehow we did just fine. And we were all a lot thinner too. (See what I mean? There’s never really any “progress”.) In the real world, you make the best of what you got.
But I digress. My point is this: I was extremely gratified to hear that the conservative party (ND: New Democracy) in Greece defeated that miscreant Tsipras (the former Prime Minister) and his SYRIZA minions. I didn’t think it was possible, mainly because he was in the process of enfranchising 700,000 or more Syrian, Afghani, African and who-knows-what-else migrants. All of them on welfare and a huge percentage of them being criminals of the worst sort.
Like the Democrat Party and the RINOcucks here in the States, Tsipras was a globalist in the worst sense. What he wanted to do was normalize the citizenship of these new “Greeks”, who would then form a new, impossible-to-dislodge voting bloc which would permanently turn Greece into a crapulent one-party state. Kinda like California.
That was the plan anyway. And anyway, like I said, I thought that it was already “lights out” for Greece and the Greek people.
So imagine my glee when the election returns came in and SYRIZA was soundly defeated. If memory serves, the Blue-Red map showed that only six counties (or nomoi) were in the “Red” column. (In Greece, “red” is left-wing while “blue” is right-wing.) I just didn’t think it possible. Unlike Italy, Britain, Hungary, Israel, Australia and Brazil, I thought that Greece had passed the point of no return, demographically and politically speaking.
Now to be sure, the new Greek Prime Minister is not a conservative in the populist, Trumpian sense of the word. He’s not a Trump or Farage or Johnson, not a Salvini, an Orban, Netanyahu, Bolsonaro and so on. He’s very much an establishment type. Think of it this way: Say Marco Rubio had defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016. Nothing to get too excited about but the other option would have been Mdme Mao putting Republicans in pajamas and forcing us to work in rice paddies.
It’s like what they say about halitosis: It’s better than no breath at all. So yeah, Jeb! Walker, Rubio and Cruz would have been marginally better. Or more like the least, worse choice.
Therefore I look at Mitsotakis and ND’s victory in this light. It could have been a whole lot worse for Greece. Anything, anybody, even a mentally-deficient Hapsburg, would have been better for Greece than Tsipras. I still hold to that.
OK, so this is the context. Capiche?
Here is where the trepidation sets in. Mitsotakis is clearly an American stooge. He studied here as a young man and imbibed a lot of the globalist ambiance that was au courrant in post-Reagan America. While he is not against the Church of Greece, he is not above using them for political purposes. And the purpose at hand is coercing the Church to recognize the new schismatic sect in Ukraine.
Not good. Not good at all. You can read about it here for yourself. https://www.eurasiareview.com/09082019-us-influence-on-the-church-of-greece-increasing-oped/
Besides violating the supposedly liberal concept of the separation of church and state which us good liberals in the States always get so hot and bothered about, Mitsotakis runs the very real risk of doing what Tsipras could not do. And that is cause the Church to collapse even further, possibly causing a schism.
Tsipras is an atheist. He said so himself. As such, there is no doubt that he would have allowed the Church of Greece to continue its decline had he remained in office. As far as he was concerned, it was a wasting asset. On the other hand, by forcing it to bend to his will, he ran the risk of waking the Church up. And I mean both the laity as well as the hierarchy. That’s because people circle the wagons when there’s an enemy at the gates, even if they don’t necessarily like each other. Tsipras –like all atheists at heart–was clearly that enemy.
As stated above, Mitsotakis is not antithetical to the Church. However under his government, the Church of Greece runs the very real risk of being used for political purposes. There’s no need to rehash it here, it’s an old story, going all the way back to Constantine the Great. Our concern at present is the viability of the Church of Greece going forward, that is if it accedes to Mitsotakis’ (really the State Department’s) request to recognize Dumenko’s outfit in Kiev.
The Church of Greece is in no great shakes. It’s riven by corruption and scandal. And has been for quite awhile. You could say that at times, it festers like an open wound on the Greek nation depending on how much scandal the people can take. But it is still the Church. Truth still resides there, no matter how vile some of the people within it are. And it’s pretty darn obvious by now that what Patriarch Bartholomew did in Ukraine is not going over well with the rest of the Orthodox world. If it were, then there’d be no problems.
Instead, he has set the Orthodox world at each other’s throats. If you ask me, that’s a pretty clear indication that Bartholomew’s Ukrainian gambit was illegitimate from the start.
The Phanar made some hasty calculations going into Ukraine. Sure, they thought, Russia would go ballistic and the other Slavic churches would drag their heels. But certainly the Greek-dominated churches (Greece, Alexandria, Cyprus and Jerusalem) wouldn’t think twice about it.
Clearly, he was wrong. Not only have Alexandria, Cyprus and Jerusalem not gone alone with his plans but the Church of Greece has done everything to voice its displeasure. Worse, Bartholomew personally has mishandled the situation when he ambushed Archbishop Hieronymus of Athens last month when he visited the Phanar. Unknown to the Athenian archbishop, Dumenko was lying in wait and to Hieronymus’ chagrin, they served Vespers together. After it was over, Hieronymus hastily departed for Athens, refusing to serve liturgy with the schismatic the next morning.
Clearly, the Greeks are in no mood to buckle. Having said that, I can foresee a scenario in which the Holy Synod of Greece decides under enormous pressure to recognize the schismatic Ukrainian sect –after a fashion. But I seriously doubt that it will be a full-throated “hip-hip-hurrah!” sort of thing. Worse, I can easily see how several bishops in Greece refuse to go along with any recognition at all. (I still can’t envision Hieronymus being enthusiastic about the prospect.)
Let’s put our cards on the table: Anything less than an overwhelming majority vote by the Synod would cause a schism within the Church of Greece. It’s one thing to be corrupt, it’s quite another to upend Orthodox ecclesiology along the lines of the neo-papalist schemes of the Phanar.
Personally, I look to Mt Athos for a template of what to expect. On the Holy Mountain, the overwhelming number of monastic communities have not recognized the uncanonical Ukrainian church. In fact, when a couple of these false hierarchs showed up, the door was (literally) slammed in their faces on at least two occasions that I know of. And Athos is under the direct authority of Bartholomew.
Something tells me that it will be even uglier with the Church of Greece should Mitsotakis succeed in bringing Hieronymus to heel.
So this is what I mean that you gotta take the bad along with the good. Mitsotakis may have reversed Greece’s decline (which is good) but to do so at the risk of forcing the Church to do the State Department’s will –is not.
My hope, my prayer is that by dragging this out as long as possible, the facts on the ground in Ukraine will render this entire exercise moot. Like many of the State Departments schemes, such as Syria, Turkey and Ukraine, the Russian Bear has been able to confound the globalists’ schemes.
RE: . . . you gotta take the bad along with the good.”And sometimes the good guys win. Volodymyr Zelensky just posted a petition on his official website to cancel the transfer of St. Andrew’s to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. – It’s nice to see someone who recognizes that the presence of the canonical Chruch is not an example of Russian interference.
http://orthochristian.com/123011.html
Glory be to God!
The Uk advertising control agency that vets add that they receive complaints about, has just asked to be banned two tv adds as for Philadelphia cheese ( that should be banned in it’s own right!! ?) and Voltz wagans. On the grounds of sexism and negative portrayal of the sexes in portrayal of two Men looking after a baby, leaving it on one of those food caracels in chinese etc restaurants, and of a woman quietly stood by a pram holding a baby, as this seen as a negative stereotype.
Thought you might like to know.!!! ?
Glory be to God!
Yes glory to God, because God has cared so much about the Ukraine situation that He let it get this far. Maybe God missed the memo, and now just catching up to the corrupt affair in The Ukraine? Sorry to be a little Mrs. Doubtfire, and not saying 25,000 votes will be hard to come by, but with only 117 signatures, maybe this story, by the fair and balanced Orthochristian.com, is a bit premature?
OH well, on more pressing issues, Dino is quite upset his nation is officially a banana state, run like the characters in the Godfather movie series, or Putin’s Russia. Maybe I worry to0 much and my opinion of our nation premature as well, since the FBI is on the case, and Trump is off doing 3D chess moves , via Twitter on all involved, and will save our nation, and the world.(PS Has one brick been laid on THE wall?)And of course. Worry NOT! Trump’s partnership with Putin, will bring Ukraine Church back to Putin, EER Moscow!
Meanwhile Alec Baldwin, who is not our President, but plays one on television, believes the Russians are behind the suspicious death/murder/suicide behind bars, soon CNN and the Dems will follow, since Trump is controlled by Putin. New fake news! Trump ordered the hit on the lover of young children,and his very interesting log book of orgy island and airlines. Also and of course, since the Dems and Deep State are so filled with hate towards the Putin/Trump partnership via blackmail, they have seeked revenge using our EP and Ukraine, to poke short bear, and Orange Hitler.
All comes full circle like the horrible final scenes in Godfather 3, and in the end we all scratch our heads wondering what was Coppola thinking making Godfather 3!? what has happened to our nation, and most importantly, how much Ukrainian candy and chocolate does it take to bribe a green EP.
BUT WAIT! Ukraine now has a newly elected Jewish comic as The Ukraine’s Prime Minister! Glory to God the tides have changed, and Orthodoxy saved from evil heer tics! At this point even Hillary 2020 would not surprise.
All the world’s a stage my friends. A sad dark comedy, in fact.
Help me Rhonda! The end must be near!?
PS- Godfather’s FREDO is the new N-word!
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/08/12/cnns-chris-cuomo-threatens-violence-after-man-calls-him-fredo-ill-fcking-throw-you-down-these-stairs/
Dino, one of my favorite Simpsons episodes was when Bart broke into a video library and pulled out a DVD that was titled: The Godfather III: The Good Version.
“Meanwhile Alec Baldwin, who is not our President, but plays one on television, believes the Russians are behind”
Dino, isn’t that amazing how smart and great actors can be so foolish at the same time. A strange occupation.
Indeed Martin,
In Alec’s case, maybe manipulator is a better choice of words than smart. I’ve also heard Robert De Nero is a dull blade, and yet, simply because he is such a great actor, many see him as wise as well.
Keep in mind Martin, while it may not be fair to say most great actors are great liars and/0r con men, as they must get us to believe they are something, we know they are not. No, but first they manipulate their own emotions in turning themselves and words into something they are not. They then manipulate us, and get the emotional reaction they want from us, the audience.
This make them very important tools for politicians. They persuade others that their position is good, right, and moral. While those who oppose their position as evil, racist, uneducated, hateful, and shame us from speaking up.
They manipulate our feelings, regardless of the facts, thus many perceive them and their opinions as smart, wise, and good.
Speaking of manipulating. In two days George has maybe broken a record with 124 posts in 1 1/2 days, on a story that may not be true. Who cares, or as George states, “It’s more likely it was leaked in order to put the kibosh on any possible future capitulation to the EP.”
See what I mean? The truth does not matter, only the end game is what matters. Question is, was George played, or is George playing us?
Truth matters, Dino.
08-15-19:”BREAKING: THE OCA TO GO UNDER EP!”
“things I wish weren’t true but are”
One day later not so true…
“It could just been nothing more than a trial balloon…”
“…it was leaked in order to put the kibosh on any possible future capitulation to the EP”
George these are your words. If truth matters why not wait until you know the truth?
And yet more truth George?
“Either way, it’s clear the people of the OCA are completely against any loss of autocephaly.”
When did you take a poll of all people in the OCA?
I believe you George, I really do, so my money goes that you were played, and not playing us.
I think our George may have just thrown water on their plans. Good for George!
Got it Gail,
So in the future when George/Monomakhos headlines a story, EVEN ALL IN CAPS, we the readers, should not consider it the truth, but something that might happen in the future, unless George/Monomakhos kills it or allows it to happen.
Clear
As I said before, for some, the truth does not matter, only the end game.
Dino, if I may answer for now: Despite the all-caps, screaming, yellow-journalism headlines, my sources were and are trustworthy.
Let this also be the last word on this specific topic for now (at least from me), that soon, when all the dust has settled, I will write a summary. Please forgive me but I can’t say anything more at this point other than this: As long as Arb Elpidophoros is exarch for the EP, then you can expect more Byzantine supremacy in America, not less.
Therefore watch his encyclicals, meetings, symposia, who he meets with, and so on and you will get a clue as to what the EP’s plans for America are. (This is not to say that they will come to fruition, just what they are.)
Oh, I think it was true, Dino. It wouldn’t be the first time they “floated” something like this before pulling the trigger. They just have a LOT more work to do in the PR department because this went over like a lead balloon.
Thank you, Gail.
Soon, I will write a summary of what transpired. Let me wait until things have settled down. In the meantime, keep your eye on two things: 1) the meeting between Met Joseph & Arb Elpi and 2) the way things are unfolding in Ukraine.
Ukraine was a “beta test” for the “New World Orthodox Order”. I really don’t think that I need to explain what I mean by that, do I?
Of course even if there are plans in the works to achieve a union, they had not yet progressed very far. Now that they are public, it is easy to deny their reality.
They will wait for enough folks to fall back asleep. The Great Eye though never sleeps always searching for the corruption in our souls to encourage it.
Men of the west must arouse ourselves crying Holy, Holy, Holy art thou our God.
Dino,
“When did you take a poll of all people in the OCA?”
If one wants to know whether ALL the soup is too salty
then he does not drink ALL of it to make sure. He tries a SAMPLE with a a little spoon.
If George has slowly collected a RANDOM sample of opinions in OCA, then he is equally able (by statistical science) to get a very reasonable idea about ALL of OCA (ie its greatest part, or the resultant force).
In fact, that’s how polls work.
That’ s science, not blind fanaticism.
And George, having read pharmacology and pharmacopoeia,
is an expert on that statistical method!
Lesson:
Use your criticism CAREFULLY.
Thank you for coming to my defense Ioanni.
I will say that there is a silver lining to this kerfuffle and that is that we can say with great confidence that we in the OCA do like our autocephaly and won’t take a shine to those who are willing to negotiate it away.
May it always be that way.
By the way, what you describe is an “aliquot”. Like many apothecary, alchemical and chemical terms, comes from the Arabic.
This post made my brain hurt
Randy,
I am sorry for your pain. Some friendly advice, whenever in England go by the name Randall instead of Randy. Cheers mate!????????
Stick to randy it’s an ice ( as in frozen water) braker in conversation.
Zelensky is an absolute Godsend for the canonical church in Ukraine. While the petition isn’t much to get too excited about considering that most anyone can post a petition there, (its kindof like a Ukranian change.org to the best of my knowledge). Zelensky has actually been more bold and brash with his support for law and order in Ukraine than I could have ever imagined. For one thing, he directly refused to sign a joint statement supporting the “OCU” during his photo-OP with Patriarch Bartholomew, and said to his face “authorities should not interfere in church matters in Ukraine”. And, amazingly enough, just today he ordered the abolishment of the Ukranian Government’s “ministry of spirituality and culture” which has been the main instigator of the tomos fiasco, and basically fired its leader Nikolai Knyazhitsky, who has been the most vocal supporter of anti-Russian and anti-UOC propaganda besides Poroshenko. And, just last month, Zelensky personally signed into law an “anti-raider” bill, which is most likely aimed at (among other things) curtailing the rampant church seizures by schismatics. Zelensky is under no illusions, unlike the previous president, he knows that the overwhelming majority of the population of Ukraine are faithful of the UOC-MP, who love Ukraine, support its sovereignty, and want an end to the war in the Donbass.
God bless him!
God bless him!
You can say that again!
How encouraging!
Wow!
I think his behavior is also influenced by the fact that, even though Zelensky is Jewish, his wife and children are baptized members of the canonical UOC-MP under Metropolitan Onufry.
But an Orthodox Christian cannot marry a Jewish person, unless that Jewish person first becomes Christian, preferably Orthodox Christian ?
I don’t think there are exceptions for comedic actors or heads of state, as in the president of Ukraine’s case. Unless his wife and kids became Orthodox after they had already married?
The rumor is that Zelinsky received baptism. It’s just a rumor mind you.
Zelensky’s first name is
Volodymyr or Vladimir.
Does anybody know whether is in fact a Christian name?
Of course it is. Feast day July 15. Lots of Jews have Christian names however.
Indeed. Just about every one I know, in fact. Let me think; Dennis, Lester, Larry, Stephan, Charles, Karen, Keith, Jack, Fred; well, I could go on and on and I reckon everybody here could, too!
I found out recently that Edward, Richard and even William are the names of pre-Schism saints in the West. Perfectly fine names if you ask me.
Yes, my name is Edward, and when I came on board found Edward the Martyr, a rather obscure and short-reigning king, a couple of generations before Edward the Confessor. The Confessor would be a good choice, but he doesn’t quite make the chronological cut for Eastern church purposes, having died in 1066.
But Edward the Martyr is a bona-fide Orthodox saint, so I got to stick with my name. This pleased me, as I had grown accustomed to it.
I’ve heard that Vladimir is actually a pagan name that was later “Christianized” by Tsar Peter the Great who instituted that the pagan names be used in Church instead of the actual Christian names. I understand that St. Vladimir’s baptismal name was actually Basil.
Outside of specifically Old Testament names, all “Christian” names were originally pagan. Dionysios, Apollo, Peter, Paul, Titus, Sylvanus, etc; to which can be added Boris, Vladimir, Helga, Olga, etc. As I understand it, any pagan who is martyred or otherwise glorified as a saint, has sanctified his birth name.
P.S. Constantine the Great’s baptismal names was Basil as well. Tsar Boris of Bulgaria’s name in baptism was Michael (after his godfather, Michael III of Byzantium).
Joseph Lipper: “I’ve heard that Vladimir is actually a pagan name”
It means “Vladi” – leader/to lead, “mir” – community, peace, common world, domestic peace. Mir is an interesting notion, like Muslim Umma, or Greek oikumene. Vladimir can be seen as akin to Caliph.
The term Russian Mir, can mean a multi-ethnic civilization that is informed by Russian culture, like the Western civilization based on Romano-Germanic culture
I’ve also heard that Vladimir comes from the Norse Waldemar, which means “lord of the forest”.
I have a good feel of Slavic languages. While V-lad-i, vladika can be related to Germanic lead/led, ancient Slavic word “mir” in no way can be related to the forest. Valdemar actually comes from Slavic Vladimir, ancestor of a Danish king.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/mir?ref=etymonline_crossreference
Perhaps see:
http://www.behindthename.com/name/vladimir
Perhaps see: “combined with meru great, famous”.
It does not make sense. Mir is not meru, and there is no such Slavic word as “meru”, while “mir” is used in many places. There is a word “mera” that means measure.
Someone made this etymology up and it got copied all over. Probably it was Max Vasmer from Berlin (1930s/1940s/1950s) who wanted to insert Gothic word meri/mers to connect with the names of early Germanic kings like Theodemir/Tudmir (father of Theoderic the Great). (The name Tud-mir could actually be picked from Slavs as Ostrogoths came from the East.)
Anon 2: “But an Orthodox Christian cannot marry a Jewish person, unless that Jewish person first becomes Christian, preferably Orthodox Christian ? I don’t think there are exceptions for comedic actors”
Things are not so well organized over there. They just could have taken civil marriage and there was no guy like you to tell them. This is a different world.
And for Mike Dukakis wife, thanks to dispensations from Alex Karloutsos
We need to be very careful about this concept of ‘dispensations’. There is oikonomia, of course, but that is an area way above Fr Alexander Karloutsos’s pay grade, strictly reserved to bishops while in office and/or to the synods of their local churches.
Whatever happened between Michael Dukakis and Fr AK regarding MD’s ‘marrying’ a Jewish woman, it did not involve an Orthodox Christian wedding/crowning.
Perhaps Nelly Cotripas would share the details of the arrangement here?
George as usual when you post it’s cogent and thought out and valid. Even ( not in this case as totally with you) when as with Mr T et al ( yes agreed neo liberals etc all u say and worse and I despise them) but can’t agree with the snake oil offered, i disagree .You never rant and never just chuck out instant slogans. But as saying re Greece, totally on ball. Tragedy is death of Christodoulos, but basically Ieronimos a decent moral man so i wait to see.
There is much warnth in Greece for Russian church and as Greeks we two are good russophiles. Not because they perfect but because they right and history is with them.
The Mitsotakis family you know and I awaiting to see how much of a Macron he is. Tsipras as u say had the value of putting the Church outside the establishment. But the unfailing greek church sin is to be obscessed with the veneer of power (Christ??) even though it is just that. The temptation that Christ had in the wilderness. But they don’t see the death within.
As we greeks know a crisis is an ‘Opportunity ‘ to chose, to make a judgement , and as in our own lives so nationally and as Church, it is so, and the greek Church will be called to chose.
Sadly in 1923 as with old believers in Russia in 17c c. the best elements ( along with the frankly fruit cakes! ?) were lost to the Church and as in both cases, the damage showed.
I always have feeling with greek church that i cannot trust it, that after the pews will come the organ and the razor let alone the thinking with it, of every dead disguarded trendy 1960s western trend.
One of joys of Bulgaria is to be free of this. Worship is ALWAYS a deep spiritual and aesthetic Joy. And Church slowly, very slowly on up.
Bulgarian Orthodoxy is a great example for us all. Patriarch Neophytos has also shown constant and unwavering support for the canonical UOC under Metropolitan Onufry. God bless him! I’ve always wanted to visit Bulgaria, as the amount of byzantine and Roman history that is preserved there is astounding.
Randy. Please do. And let me know. Yes much roman and byzantine history, in PLODIV ( Philipoupolis) and near here at Nikopolis AD Istrum, a whole roman city as well as the entire Black Sea coast re byzantium.
The Bulgarian Church had had a hard time but is on the up. Has interesting church Culture including of Russian Slav, re music etc, and greek byzantine and no pews etc and warm worship. The Patrarch is not well but is a good Holy Man. And yes it’s pro Moscow NOT FROM POLITICS BUT FROM ORTHODOX ECCLESIOLOGY.
Absolutely Nikos. I really dislike it when some people think that showing support for Metropolitan Onufry and the canonical Ukranian Church is somehow a kind of showing of support for the Russian government. But nothing could be further from the truth IMO. Most of the people I know that have shown support for the canonical church in Ukraine dont care for the government of Russia much at all, they just support truth and canonical order in the church. Not taking the side of either Moscow or Constantinople, but Christ and his confessors in Ukraine.
The River Volga will sue Bulgaria in international trademark court to stop using that name.
Whenever we talk about the Tomos fiasco in Ukraine, I always like to remind everyone of the words of St. Lawrence of Chernigov:
“When a little freedom appears, when the churches and monasteries are being opened and restored, then all false teaching will come out, and the demons and secret atheists (Catholics, Uniates, Ukrainian self-ordained, and others) and will fiercely take up arms against the Orthodox Russian Church, its unity and its conciliar nature. A godless authority will support these heretics, and therefore they will take churches away from the Orthodox and slaughter the faithful. Then the “Metropolitan” of Kiev (not worthy of the name) together with his like-minded “hierarchs” and “priests” will strongly shake the Russian Church. The whole world will be amazed at his lawlessness and will be frightened. He himself will go off into eternal perdition, like Judas.”
Theo message for you re asking me to give my thoughts. I thought if you can, if you happy to, tell me where you worship in which jusrisdiction, and how you came to the Church, then I can much more tailor my reply to your situation, if that makes sense. God bless.
Here’s another “fact on the ground”:
The “Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church” has now legally terminated it’s existence. This is the group that handed over the St. Andrew’s Church to the EP. It sounds like they are choosing to remain committed to the OCU.
https://112.international/ukraine-top-news/ukraines-autocephalous-orthodox-church-terminates-its-existence-42635.html