“I enjoy driving the backroads, savoring the small towns and the occasional cafe where the waitress might still call you “Hon.” In these places, you catch glimpses of the unique, the off-beat, and sometimes, the downright bizarre. Somewhat in that context, I always pay special attention to the churches I pass along the way: their archetecture (or lack thereof), their sloganeering, and especially their names. The Jesus Christ is the Answer, Inc. Church, painted in large red letters on the... Read more

Thanks to Pay Pal Tech Support, the online purchase button (in the side margin) is back in operation for signed copies of One Flew Over the Onion Dome. Now … as you were. Read more

Orthodox Hierarchs Meeting in Chicago List of participating bishops. A bleak forecast. Read more

If you’ve ever read Gone With the Wind you might tire of folks saying, “No … but I’ve seen the movie!” The book reads like literature, the movie reeks like Hollywood. Sure, you could do worse with your Blockbuster dollar, but there’s really no comparison between the two. In similar fashion, for the younger crowd, think of Harry Potter the books and HP the movies. Hands down, case closed. If you don’t like these examples, think of your own (till... Read more

She said: “What a pathetic thing the Holy Spirit must be, in Father Hallinan’s view, that it has only enough power to sway the odd female here and there — and has such weak and occasional influence over the Magisterium.” He said: I hear the devil does a mean Holy Spirit impression. It is said … THAT. Read more

The following (on Galatians 6:2-10) is taken from the September 27th edition of DYNAMIS: First, we are to “bear one another’s burdens” (vs. 2). How contrary this Apostolic rule is to the modern heresy of self-fulfillment, a way of life that minimizes a need for Church and Faith in the Lord, promoting instead independence, with minimal reference to anyone else. True apostolic Faith, of course, knows Christ in the Church, in that close-bonded family (see Gal. 4:28) in which we... Read more

NOTE: I have long hair and have spent years dressed in a “Turkish fashion” enduring appreciating many a hierarchical liturgy. I have never aspired to liturgical innovation or revolution. Still, the following words from Fr Thomas Hopko are worth a reading, dissecting, digesting — or deleting … An Orthodox bishop comes to a congregation in his diocese headed by a presbyter. He is greeted at the church door in the most solemn manner. He is wearing a decorated monastic mantia... Read more

Shocking, but true: Orthodoxy did not begin with American Converts. Conversion to Orthodoxy did not begin with Americans. And, should the Lord tarry, it shall not end with American Converts. Face it, some people convert to Orthodoxy in order to get married. These may spend their whole lives working out their salvation piously in their new home. Others may have converted to Orthodoxy because their ruler said to (e.g., Constantine, Vladimir, the Tsars, etc). Then there’s the rest of us.... Read more

Sorry. Two lists in a row. But, couldn’t resist … A woman came home, screeching her car into the driveway, and ran into the house. She slammed the door and shouted at the top of her lungs, “Honey, pack your bags. I won the lottery!” The husband said, “Oh my God! What should I pack, beach stuff or mountain stuff?” “Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Just get out.” Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right, and the... Read more

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, “What does love mean?” “When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” Rebecca – age 8 “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy... Read more