Hey Western Washington!

Dear Friends of the Seattle G. K. Chesterton Society,

Just a reminder:

We invite you to join us tomorrow evening for our fourth gathering of this season at the Catholic Newman Center of the University of Washington, located at 4502 20th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98105.

Thursday, February 24, 2011, at 7:30 PM, UW Newman Center

From Optina Monastery to Sixties Berkeley:
The Surprising Legacy of Pre-Revolutionary Russian Monks

Dr. Michael Matriotti
Seattle University

Gogol, Kireyevsky, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy were among thousands who sought consolation and guidance from five generations of humble monks who were trained in the tradition of eldership, a tradition stretching back to Anthony the Great, Cassian the Roman, and other venerable saints, who in the first centuries of the Church, fled to the deserts of Egypt and Syria to explore the depths of life in Christ. The elders of Optina contributed to the “Russian Religious Renaissance” in letters, the arts, and most importantly, spirituality. The renaissance was cut short by the Revolution of 1917, and the monastery at Optina was closed ruthlessly by the Bosheviks on Thomas Sunday, 1923. However, the ideals of the Russian Renaissance came to light again in Paris, in London, and, of all places, in Berkeley during the fifties and sixties.

Dr. Michael Matriotti is an Assistant Professor in Matteo Ricci College at Seattle University and Head Cantor at St. John Chrysostom Catholic Church here in Seattle. Prof. Matriotti took his B.A. degree from St. Thomas Seminary in Kenmore, Washington, and his Doctorate in Theology degree from the Graduate Theological Union, at the University of California, Berkeley. His dissertation was a study of “The Relation between Science and Religion Viewed in the Light of the Evolutionary Notions of Julian Huxley, Carl Jung, and Friedrick Wilhelm von Schelling.”

Please see our full Events Calendar for more details pertaining to meetings. Parking at the Newman Center is extremely limited. It is recommended that commuters park in the nearby “N5” lot on the University campus, accessible via the north gate at NE 45th St and Memorial Way. The fee for evening parking in the University lots is $5.00. Campus maps showing the exact location of the N5 lot are available here.

We look forward to seeing you Thursday evening!

Yours faithfully,

The Seattle G. K. Chesterton Society