"I am the door. By me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture." - John 10:9 At every parish where I have had the pleasure of attending services, there is always a small group of people who find their way all the way up to the church building but don't actually attend services. At one parish it was a group of male gypsies who talked on cellphones or smoked cigarettes. At another it was a few Protestant husbands who, though they never attended services, opened the parish doors for people as they filed in. At yet another parish the men stood in the narthex and chatted until it was time to receive and then got in line. Latin or Greek Catholic, Eastern or Oriental Orthodox I see the same small throng of men standing next to the front door, but not standing, sitting, or kneeling amongst the people. If it were me (and I can only speak for myself here) this option would be an unsavory one. The boredom would be immediate. The anxiety of som...
I suppose there would be less Russophobia in Russia stopped attacking its neighbours
ReplyDeleteSpecifically in Church terms, the Moscow Patriarchate has managed to upset a lot of its Orthodox brothers and sisters in Western Europe by its aggressive taking over of churches like those in Nice and London (and its failed attempt in Biarritz). Patriarch Kirill and Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev should not be surprised if their complaints of "Russophobia" and "discrimination against adherents of the Moscow Patriarchate" fail to elicit any sympathy.
ReplyDelete