This Says It All

Thanks to Owen White…

 

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Wooden Churches of Slovakia

(Thanks to Pani Marcela):

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Orthodoxy in Alaska

“This golden age of the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska ended with Russia’s sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867. Protestant missionaries, not Orthodox priests, received government support in the new territory. But even today — as the annual pilgrimage to Spruce Island attests — there remains a significant Orthodox influence, particularly among Alaska Natives. About 90 percent of the Alaskan diocese’s 30,000 to 60,000 members come from indigenous groups: the Aleuts, Alutiiqs, Athabascans, Tlingits and Yupiks.”

Read the rest:http://www.cnewa.org/default.aspx?ID=3247&pagetypeID=4&sitecode=HQ&pageno=1

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And Now, Visual Continuity

I have been intending for a long time to download illustrations from the journal that was the granddaddy to this blog, and finally, with the assistance of my 14 year old son, Patric, I got around to it. So hopefully there will be now be a sense of visual continuity with the old Caelum et Terra. 

And of course, if any of you have art that you think would fit here, feel free to email it to me…

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Tree of Life, Postponed

I have been eager to see the new Terry Malick film, The Tree of Life, ever since I saw the trailer a few weeks ago. My intrigue only grew when I heard that some of the audience booed when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, but that it then received a ten minute standing ovation and went on to win the highest award of the event.

Then the reviews began appearing, and they were all over the place. Some loved it, and words like “prayer” and “contemplative” were common, but then so were words like “boring” and “pretentious”. But even the negative reviews led me to believe that I would love the film, as the reviewers seemed like dolts (one reviewer criticized the film for not having any sex scenes!)

So I had big plans for Sunday, for my eldest sons and I to go see it for ourselves. Saturday night I went online to check the show times, only to discover that not only was it not in any of the local theaters, but that it is only going to open in the “arty” theater in Cleveland, where we had to go to see Of Gods and Men last month,  on June 6.

Sigh. It is a shame that films that aspire to more than cheap thrills and entertainment  do not have wider appeal. I had assumed that I could view it down the street at the local theater.

Looking on the bright side, a trip to Cleveland means a chance to eat at our favorite (and only) local Jamaican restaurant, where they serve jerk chicken that rivals Negril cafe in Silver Spring Maryland.

Stay tuned.

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Memorial Day in a Time of War

“Yet at the rate we are going, Memorial Day 2014 could come and go and there will still be dead soldiers, protests in the streets, creeping civilian death tolls, veterans killing themselves and neglect at the VA. There will be the obligatory hand-wringing, the stern vows of reform by politicians, Rolling Thunder and a pledge or two for peace – until the next Memorial Day, when we do it all over again.”

More, from Kelley Vlahos: http://original.antiwar.com/vlahos/2011/05/29/memorial-day-in-wartime/

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The True Goal

“God is the true goal of all longing, all desire and all love.”

-St Maximos the Confessor

(Icon by Daniel Nichols)

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Again: The Immorality of Aerial Warfare

”During the air strike two civilian houses were targeted, which killed 14 civilians, and six others were wounded,” a government statement said. The statement said the dead included five girls, seven boys and two women.

More: http://www.smh.com.au/world/at-least-14-civilians-killed-in-nato-air-strike-in-afghanistan-20110529-1fawl.html#ixzz1NmxqwYR1

And more: http://news.antiwar.com/2011/05/29/nato-strikes-kill-32-afghan-civilians-and-20-police/

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Happy Birthday, Mr Chesterton

“G. K. Chesterton was born on this day in 1874. He stands out as one of the most jovial and brilliant apologists for the Christian faith of the early twentieth century. In these times when religiosity either burns with extremist severity or barely simmers at all, Chesterton’s Orthodoxy registers as something very special. In it, he defends wonder, good conduct, free will, and a belief in God whose greatest secret is mirth. His writing is aglimmer with astonishment over the adventure of life.”

More: http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/days/features.php?id=15652

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Two Steps Back for Ecumenism

Click here for the context: http://doctordavidtennant.tumblr.com/ost/5321318141/two-churches-located-across-the-street-from-each-other

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