"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...
They share a commitment to opposing the only canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine. They were bound to come to the old "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" conclusion eventually. Lord, please bless and protect your faithful servants in Ukraine!
ReplyDeleteWhile I realize that the UGCC & UOC-KP (non-canonical) are allies I honestly look at the faces of the others in the picture and no one seems happy to see him.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's because they know that Filaret was never Ukrainian until he got passed over to be Patriarch of Moscow. Suddenly, he rediscoved his Ukrainian roots so that he could be Patriarch of Ukraine. But the Ukrainian Catholics seem to have no trouble supporting him. I suspect that's why the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox have to kiss up to the Ukrainian Catholics. They dönt want to lose any more parishes to Filaret. Of course, there also is nationalism...
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's because they know that Filaret was never Ukrainian until he got passed over to be Patriarch of Moscow. Suddenly, he rediscoved his Ukrainian roots so that he could be Patriarch of Ukraine. But the Ukrainian Catholics seem to have no trouble supporting him. I suspect that's why the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox have to kiss up to the Ukrainian Catholics. They dönt want to lose any more parishes to Filaret. Of course, there also is nationalism...
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