Just when you thought you’d heard it all … … comes the best cover up in history. Reminds me of this story. Read more

Kneeling “is clearly rebellion, grave disobedience and mortal sin,” Father Martin Tran, pastor at St. Mary’s by the Sea, told his flock in a recent church bulletin. The Diocese of Orange backs Tran’s anti-kneeling edict. Since at least the 7th century, Catholics have been kneeling after the Agnus Dei, the point during Mass when the priest holds up the chalice and consecrated bread and says, “Behold the lamb of God.” But four years ago, the Vatican revised its instructions, allowing... Read more

From Fr Mark Mancuso On this Sunday, that before the Feast of the Ascension of Christ, the Church recalls to our attention the Gospel of the man born blind. There are two points here that I would particularly like to remark on. First, the words of Christ about why the man was born blind. Replying to His disciples, He says that his blindness was not because the man sinned, or his parents, but so that the works of God be... Read more

Persecution and martyrdom of Christians under 20th century totalitarianism—mainly of Russian Orthodox Christians under Bolshevism—is by far the greatest crime in all of recorded history. It is several times greater than the Holocaust in terms of innocent lives brutally destroyed. It has killed more Christians in a few decades than all other causes put together in all ages, with Islam a distant second as the cause of their death and suffering. And yet it still remains a largely unknown, often... Read more

Un. Real. All the speculation, the books, the seminars, the movies … To decipher the meaning behind the Number of the Beast. Could it be so easy? HT: NewsForum Read more

With a surname like Petranek, you don’t immediately think Anglican. But if people can look Anglican, Richard Petranek used to. Maybe that’s because the first time I met him he was in the clerical dress of an Episcopal priest. These days he comes to church dressed in a suit and tie. Since renouncing his orders in the Episcopal Church, especially now that he is enrolled as an Orthodox catechumen, I’d have to say he looks merely distinguished. Soon, God willing,... Read more

To My Beloved Clergy and Laity of the Syrian Greek-Orthodox Catholic Church in North America: Greetings in Christ Jesus, Our Incarnate Lord and God. My Beloved Brethren: Two years ago, while I was a Vice-President and member of the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches Union, being moved with compassion for my children in the Holy Orthodox faith “once and for all delivered to the Saints” (St Jude ver. 3), scattered throughout the whole of North America and deprived of the... Read more

If you could ask questions of someone who is starting a Western Rite Mission … what would you ask? Please comment below, ASAP. Results soon to follow … Read more

In truth, we’re all converts. We are called to convert to Christ daily: “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Thus we know that there’s no such thing as being “born Orthodox.” But when people use that term, or Cradles, we know what they mean. Hopefully the same may be said of these labels: Converts, Reverts, and Retreads. Convert refers to... Read more

Unless I detox myself of all reactionary tendencies (major, major endeavor) this blog may never become a DVC-Free Zone. The residue of that oil spill continues. For instance, Madonna. Slamming Christianity is in vogue these days. Ranks right up there with being anti-Bush. In fact, the two usually go hand in hand. Eventually, if not immediately, it do get tiresome. In the same vein, The Da Vinci Code phenomenon certainly allows for many “teaching moments.” Yet, it may just wear... Read more